


Over the Years

by WavesOver



Series: Tales of Esmia [2]
Category: Shoujo Kakumei Utena | Revolutionary Girl Utena, Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Drabble Collection, Female Bakura Ryou, Female Mutou Yuugi, I mean some of these are super short while others could be oneshots of their own, Implied gay sex, Like Seth and Honda are the only straight people in this story, Most everyone is bi unless stated otherwise, Multi, Queer Relationships, Trans Joey/Jounochi, Trans Male Character, background for other parts of the AU, characters for each chapter will be in top notes, fairytale AU, no betas we die like men, random points in time line, relationships tagged up top, warnings in front of chapter for specific stuff for that part, word count crazy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-03
Updated: 2020-01-01
Packaged: 2021-02-26 02:08:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 28
Words: 21,756
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21655771
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WavesOver/pseuds/WavesOver
Summary: A collection of related drabbles and one-shots for the Tales of Esmia AU. focuses on events both big and small in this strange world of mine.
Relationships: Anzu Mazaki/Minako Aino, Thief King Bakura/Mahaado | Mahad, Yami Bakura/Marik Ishtar
Series: Tales of Esmia [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1561237
Kudos: 2





	1. Where it All Began

**Author's Note:**

> Characters: Anzu, Yugi, perhaps another?  
> Point in timeline: five years into King Akhenamkhanen's reign  
> Warnings: none

Anzu looked on into the crowd of girls from the village. Another batch that she would have to judge to see if they are worth of being the Maiden of People. Well, technique her grandma is choosing, but grandma say that this is a good way to learn how to figure out a person and see if they are trustworthy. This was the 9th one that they had done so far and every time she thinks she found a good candidate; they show a pretty **big** flaw in their conduct. Either they are too easily flattered, naive, stupid, prideful, vain, delusional, greedy, bratty, or just plain mean.

Some of these girls think that doing this will somehow grant them a perfect life. That they can use this duty as a way to marry rich, or be a lady, or be with their ‘true love’ (which really makes her question how much they know about love at 8 years old). That somehow once they have been chosen, they would be set for life. That is a big delusion that gets them knocked up, dismissed, or even executed (by a particularly horrid past candidate that’s still talked about in some circles). There is a chance that the lord will divorce you if you don’t produce a son (but that is slowly changing due to the increased ties to Argentèe Lune), the rich husband might lose it all in bad deals, your ‘true love’ might be a rake, and there was always the chance they could die too quickly. Yes, it could be used for a good marriage, that what Grandma did when she was done crowning the King Amenemha, but you have to put in a lot of work to learn what to do and **how** to do it, a lot of manners have to be taught and memorized, a lot of thought has to go into who you marry, and even then it could all blow up in your face. After all, no one knows what happened to the previous Maiden. She just up disappeared after the ceremony.

So it was up to Grandma to get things ready, again. And she as Anzu to help her out.

And here she is. Staring at all these young girls. Grandma is of course talking to the adults and hearing the cases they have on why their daughter should be the Maiden of the People. But if there is one thing that Grandma knows after all these years, is that people always show their true selves to the help. That’s how she knows that Grandpa was a good guy to be with, why her birth mother was a gold digger, and so much more. So she asked Anzu to play being a servant of hers. A beloved servant but still a servant.

She looked around the room seeing much of the same as the other villages. The girls who act sweet when adults are around and lash out on anyone who was less important. The dim ones that wouldn’t notice if you insult them to their face. The vain ones with egos like glass. There was even a girl who glared at everyone like she despised every moment of this.

Overall a rather disappointing group.

After all that she still hadn’t found a good choice out of the lot of them. Anzu turned around to meet Grandma in their room.

“Who are you really?”

Anzu jumped at the question. She spun around to see a small girl there. Her face was kind and she had an unassuming presence. In fact, if you took away her purple eyes and bizarre tri-colored hair, she could easily blend into a wall.

“I’m…. I’m sorry.”

“Who are you really to the duchess?”

“Merely a favored servant.”

“No, I think that your someone close to her ladyship.”

“And where did you get a ridiculous idea like that?”

“Your cloths, your words, your treatment from her ladyship, the way you look at one of the ruder girls when you think no one is looking at you. You say you’re a servant and yet you have the hands of a noble woman.”

“… And what of it? what would you use with such information.”

The mystery girl then gave a small grin.

“Nothing.”

She then left her alone, walking away with a satisfied grin on her face.

Anzu didn’t know what to think about the strange girl. She figured out that she was pretending to be a servant, waited until no one else, told her, and left. Why would she… Anzu eyes widen as she considered everything. Maybe this was the kind of girl they were looking for.

Anzu ran to the room to tell Grandma about her discovery.

The next day, young Yugi Mouto of Domino was chosen to be the Maiden of the People.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey there, this here is just a little something that I've had on my hand for a while; a place to put all the hidden and side info for the story that I've written earlier this year. I'm posting it now as a part of a self-challenge to post something for everyday of this month (something which I'm already behind on). Feel free to ask any questions you have in the comments, along with anything else you would like to add. Hope you have a nice day.


	2. Blood Magic

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Characters: Anthy, Atem  
> Point in timeline: four years into King Akhenamkhanen's reign  
> Warnings: mention of blood, self-inflicted pain, vengeance, magicly cursing someone, dark stuff overall

There were many types of curses for her to use for her purposes, most of them either affecting the entire lineage or requiring something of personal significance to that person. both of those options were not suited to her purpose. There was also the option of placing a cursed object in his possession but the priests had a way of discovering that before he had even known about it. But after all this time searching, she had found the perfect curse for her and her collaborators’ plan.

It was a curse that caused great pain to the parents of the target. She could easily find a protection charm to keep it from affecting her life as well, but she wanted to know how much it would **hurt.** She wanted a taste of the pain that he would experience so she could imagine him feeling it for years on end. Not to mention she had to make sure it would work. And so, she waited until the next full moon, took a rag with some blood that she had cleaned off her son after he fell and scrapped his knee a few days ago, placed it into the bowl with the rest of the ingredients, and chanted the words needed to activate the curse.

As soon as the last syllable left her lips, she screamed as every muscle in her body spasmed, every bone felt broken, her throat felt like it was covered in flames, and her skin felt like both freezing cold and boiling hot water are blasting her at every angle. She must have passed out because she next remembered hearing her son call out to her, shaking her out of her state.

“Mama, Mama, Mama, Mama!”

She looked at him by the moon light, his green eyes overflowing with tears.

“Shhhh, don’t worry. Mama’s alright, don’t cry.”

She hugged her little boy, picked him up, and took him back to bed. She then tucked him in for the night before cleaning up her area. When she joined him back in their bed, she remembered the pain that she felt, and smiled as she drifted off to sleep, holding her son in her arms.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whoo boy, here's something that's gives us a bit of insight into the curse that Anthy gave. I've always had it that she did curse the king, but this is more to show the nitty gritty about it i.e. teeth and blood from the son of the man that used her. I also want to empathize that while Anthy does love her son, she's not above using him to get what she wants (even if it is indirectly). 
> 
> Hope you have a nice day.


	3. A Cat May Lay Down Upon a King

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Characters: Atem, Mako cameo  
> Point in timeline: Second year into King Atem's reign  
> Warnings: general disgust with food (opinion is not the authors)

Atem was sitting with the lord of Tsunami, an energetic man of Mako Ryuto who had just finished a tale where he had caught a fish the size of a horse (which he had a hard time believing), when he had a taste of **THAT**.

It was fish, a rare kind that was caught freshly from the coast and served to him as a sign of gratitude for the mages who had made the fish stay fresh longer, which had more people having it, which increased businesses for the fishermen there, which made Mako happy that his area was gaining wealth and power. He was glad for Mako… but he had just had his first taste of his main export.

He **HATED IT!** But… he also was trained by his mother to never leave his plate empty.

So after a few minutes and a **large** gulp of wine to wash away the horrid taste, he reluctantly finished the plate before him, trying his best to make his face as neutral as possible as he placed each disgusting bite into his mouth.

After he was finished, Mako asked him how his meal was.

“It was well-made.” And it was. It didn’t change his own feeling of the horrendous main course.

“Bwahahahahhaha, well, there’s more where that came from.”

What?

“What do you mean?”

“Well, since you enjoyed the feast here so well, I wanted to make sure that you palace folks had a fresh supply of fish. As a token of good faith and as a thanks for all the new business we have here, we’ll have some mages establish a line to the capital that will transfer a good supply of fish there for a year. Heck, I’ll even put in the best catch of the day in there for you.”

He thanked Mako for the gracious gift while he felt a well of dread rise in him.

Oh gods, he prayed that he would survive this year.

**********

The day he returned to the palace he was assaulted with the scent of the loathsome item.

“Glad to have you back, your grace. Hope your looking forward to a fish dinner. The cooks have finally gotten the hang of the slimy devils.”

He’d rather eat mud.

“Thank you for informing me.”

**************

He was stalking through the halls trying to figure out some way to get out of another meal with **that**. He had known that he would have some meals with _it_ , but he has been back a week and they are still serving _it_ every evening meal. He was tempted to just go on another tour just to get away from the stuff when he found his salvation.

Well, more like stumbled into it. but the thought was still there.

“Get away, you furry beasts! This is not for you!”

Cats scurred out of the kitchen, pieces of it firmly in their mouths. Racing behind them was one of the cooks.

“Oh, your grace. I was just… cautioning the little dears that they shouldn’t get into things in there. But it seems that they have grown quite fond of the fish that has been sent here so they keep coming back. So, we had to… strongly suggest to them that they’d leave. Not harm them, of course. Well, better get back to the kitchen.”

As the cook left, Atem got the most brilliant plan to avoid his foul-smelling nemesis.

************

“My liege, why is there a cat on your lap?”

He turned his attention from the noble in from of him to look at the cat he was petting before looking back at him.

“It seems that Bast’s kin hold an interest in me. I see no harm in having such a being on my lap. Do you?”

“No sire. None at all.”

The man left.

Atem took out the sliver of fish that he saved from the imprompt fish lunch and gave it to his furry lap warmer.

“Good kitty.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> O.K. so, after the dark number last time, I thought it would be best to post some lighter stuff. Hope you enjoy and have a nice day.


	4. Upstairs, Downstairs

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Characters: Atem, Yugi, Kuribo  
> Point in timeline: first year into King Atem's reign  
> Warnings: mischievous Kuribo

It was a bright sunny day, about a week after his status as the late King’s son was made public, which made him the only one that the crown would acknowledge as the rightful heir. He was stretching his back after another night on his overly-soft bed when he spotted one of the workers there came in to place his clothes for the day there. He was a small figure, which meant that he was eye-level to Atem himself, with brown, bushy hair, brown skin, and green-eyes, who startling resembled one of the maids… and a butler… and now that he thought of it, there seemed to be many people in the castle who resemble the servant in front of him. Even the stableman resembled him, though he at least had an eyepatch to set him apart from all the others

“Thank you,” he said,” May I ask what your name is?”

“Kuribo, your highness,” he stated.

“I see. Do you have any family who is also here, Kuribo?”

“A better question to ask is if there is anyone in my family who doesn’t work here, your highness,” the servant said, a slight smirk on his face.

“I see. How should I address your relations if I see them?” he probed further, happy that those language lessons with Ryou are paying of here.

“Kuribo, your highness,” the servant replied the smirk growing on his face as amusement danced in his eyes.

“Atem? Isis’s asked me to get you for the history… oh, Joe. I didn’t know that you were giving the king his clothes today. How is everyone?” Yugi exclaimed as she and Kuribo (or was it Joe?) got into an animated conversation that he didn’t quite but he assumed had to do with the many duplicates that he saw around the palace. After Kuribo/Joe left to continue their work, she turned to his to see him look at her in bewilderment.

They stared at each other before he asked her what was bugging him.

“So… can you explain to me what **that** was all about?”

“… Well, Joe and his family have the familial name of Kuribo and they prefer to addressed by it. They believe that only someone who could tell them apart, not including Rambo of course, deserves to call them by their personal names.”

“And you were able to, I assume,” he replied, a soft smile showing as he teased Yugi.

She blushed as she tried to justify her knowledge as she sputters out several explanations, but all that he got was that Yugi knew how to observe a person and get to know them on a personal level, which he greatly admired in her and made his fondness for her grow. As he went with Yugi to his lessons for the day, he thought up a way to tell the different Kuribo’s apart.

*********

“…. Yumiko, what’s that on your neck?”

Yumiko looked at Yugi, who was staring at the sky-blue handkerchief on her neck.

“Oh, this? It’s a gift from his highness, dyed it himself. Asked that we each wear one while performing our duties.”

Yugi stared some more, taking in her form as she cleaned the banister.

“Is that why you’re also wearing pants?”

She felt a gleeful smile on her face as she squealed, “It’s so much fun messing with them.”

Yugi was still looking at her like Yumiko had lost her mind as she left to finish her chores for the today, her smile staying on her for the rest of the day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here is the fun Kuribo family! Each with a rhyming name and no qualms about messing with the king. Or anyone else for that matter. They're not usually in the spotlight, but they're very proud of their work and content where they are. And they definitely aren't the last of the humanized duel monsters that you'll see in this story.
> 
> Thank you for reading and I hope you have a nice day.


	5. Moments in Chess

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Characters: Seth, Yugi, Akhenamkhanen, Atem  
> Point in timeline: various  
> Warnings: none

The first time he played chess was with his uncle. He was seven and wanted to learn to play since he heard all the great kings had done so. He was horridly bad at it and just ignored the actual rules for the ones where he had all the pawns off his own queen and tried to steal his uncles queen so they could unite as the kingdom of grey. But his uncle let him play around and even had the dead queen turn into a ghost who would haunt the pawns that had betrayed her.

Over the years he was taught the proper way to play, even when his uncles attacks started happening. He had taken to playing with him in the privacy of the king’s bedroom when he had a particularly bad attack.

He didn’t know what he would do without access to the challenge of the game.

\------

It was quite the surprise when he learned that one of the girls that was going to crown him was also good at chess. he wanted to play a game with her, but it was very likely that if he just outright asked her, she would fake being bad at it so she would not do something as disgraceful as beating the crown prince at chess. But he saw how she would play with some of the other noble and how effortlessly she played her opponents and he felt a strong desire to see how _they_ would face each other.

So, he borrowed from one of the novels that he got in secret and set up a chess board in the library. The private one that only the royal family and those who were being trained to be the Maidens of Purity had access to. He knows that his father won’t touch it because he has no love for the game. His uncle has had far too many attacks to make it up the stairs let alone to the slightly hidden room. And Ryou was more fond of the books on the shelves than on the games scattered around the room.

And so, he set up the board, making sure that it was obvious to anyone who would come in. and then, he made his first move. Him taking white of course.

It was a few days after that that he had enough time to check to see if the smaller had taken the bait.

Staring at the board and the black pawn that had been moved, he felt his mouth morph into a gleeful grin.

\------

He was staring at the board, lost in his own mind. It really hit him how drastically his life had changed. Even though he was still a duke (nothing short of death could change that), he was stripped of the duty that he had to learn since he was six, he lost his human form, the pedestal that he placed his father and uncle on shattered, he even lost the ability to ride his horse. He lost the destiny that he thought he had to the cousin that he never knew existed.

And he wasn’t angry. Yes, he felt lost, unsure, and not at all certain to what his place is now, but not angry. In some odd way he was relieved to no longer be the one who holds so much power. That does not mean that he will leave just yet. After all, there are still snakes around that would use the young king’s inexperience against him. He still had a hard time reconciling the fact that he even **had** a cousin. It meant facing the way he was _conceived_ and what that makes his uncle.

At least he could still play chess. Slowly and with care so that he would not knock down some of the other pieces close by, but he could still do it. It was a small comfort but if he lost that he wouldn’t know what to do with himself.

There was a knock at the door. He growled softly, hoping that the person on the other side would take it as the invitation that it is and not a threat to leave. One of the things he misses the most is the ability to _speak_ to others. He curses the witch that cruelly changed his form. He knows that she changed him into a monster as a cruel fate. He had seen the one close to the king _freeze_ an assassin without any repercussions. She did it on purpose.

He saw the young king come in. He shifted nervously from one foot to another as he stood in front of him. They stared at each other, neither one of them knowing what to say to the stranger in front of them.

“Umm, so I know that things are really weird between us, what with everything that has been going on, and I figured that we could maybe _try_ at being family, or something. So, I figured that I would ask where you were and both Yugi and Ryou thought that you would be up here… so,” he put his hands behind his back and rocking his feet, acting more like a child than the ruler that he will be. Is. Just not publicly crowned yet.

Silence reigned after that. Seth started setting up a mock game.

“What’s that?”

He turned to see the smaller looking at the chess set. Has he never _played_ the game? He may not know a whole lot about the former Maiden, the **witch** that cursed him, but even now there are people who remember how well the quiet woman played, making her opponents think they’ve won only to have their own actions turned against them.

Wait, he probably _has_ never seen the game until this moment.

…. Well, now is as good of time as any.

He then gestured for the young king to sit. And as he taught him, which was quite difficult due to his own malformed lips and huge teeth, he starts to lose sight of Atem the king, Atem the relative, Atem the mage, and just saw Atem.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another light one, this time learning more about the dumbass cousin. And yes, he does have a (justified) hate-on for Anthy.


	6. The First Meeting of Queen Serenity the Second and King Atem the First

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Characters: Serenity(/Usagi), Atem  
> Point in timeline: First year of King Atem  
> Warnings: none

Serenity remember that ball quite well. She wore a lovely white dress with minimal jewelry. A younger her might want to show off but she’s outgrown such things. And besides, she’s not even the main focus. But it seems that the new king of Esmia disliked attention as much as Amy, for he disappeared into the crowd after the former reveal.

The ball was at least half way over before she spotted the man. He was by the wall, blending in despite his red and purple clothing, with a shy look on his face. She was surprised to learn that he was at her own height, with skin that were almost like Setsuna in coloration, eyes like Makoto, and hair that shone in three colors.

But even with all that, he looked quite lonely.

She had made up her mind.

She maneuvered through the crowd, making sure that she rejects any offers to dance as politely as she could so she won't insult some family (again). When she got there, she went over and promptly gave him an introduction to herself. It turned out that the man was none other than the one the festivities were for, the previously unknown son of King A, who got the crown due to the fact that the magic in it recognized its owner by blood, no matter if they are an illegitimate heir who knew more about farming than ruling.

“So, why aren’t you out there?”

He stared her in confusion.

“What?”

“Well, it doesn’t seem fun to me to just stay on the sidelines the whole time.”

He turned away. “Frankly, I don’t see why your definition of fun has to be the same as mine.”

Crap, she did it again.

“Sorry, it’s just that you look like you didn’t really enjoy yourself there and I wanted to make you feel better, not that you couldn’t find your own way to do that. I just like talking with people, and most of the time I could just spend day with my friends doing whatever, even reading. Not that I’m saying that you can’t have a good time doing just that. Why, Amy reads so many books that she practically lives there. Course, I’ve always enjoyed a good ride around on my horse or just playing with the cat that come in the palace. Shoot, I didn’t mean that what you do so I’m just going to shut my mouth before I say anything else,“ she put her hands on her mouth to stop herself from blurting out anymore words.

He stared at her for a few minutes before bursting out in laughter.

“Bwahahahahahahahah, Sorry, I just, bwhehehe, thought that you, hehehe, trying to kiss up. Let me introduce myself again. I’m Atem, I like games, cats, magic, and riding.” He moved his hand to indicate that she should do the same.

She took her hand off of her mouth. “Well, good sir. My name is Serenity, but my friends call me Usagi. I too like games, cats, and riding, though I can’t say much on magic. I also enjoy a good dance, though I understand if you don’t.”

She then took his hand and gave it a firm shake. They then went of to a private room where they play cards games, with others weaving in and out of playing field, until the wee hours of the morning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now here is a fun little mini-series based on a ball that changed more than a few lives. Please leave a comment and I hope you have a nice day.


	7. The Fateful Meeting of Duchess Misaki and Lady Aino

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Characters: Anzu, Minako  
> Point in timeline: First year of King Atem  
> Warnings: wlw romance (early stage/not much kissing right now)

It was during the during the ball where their new king was introduced to their allies that she spotted **her.**

A golden goddess among a sea of mortals.

She lit up the room with her charm and wit, wearing an orange gown with a red bow on the front that would look horrid on anyone else but on her brought out her golden hair and made her blue eye pop out all the more. Her very presence consumed her thoughts.

She turned away, focusing on another. Anzu shook her head. Get it together. She was the future duchess and a close confident of the king. She was of equal to the mystery woman, and in the eyes of the shallower members of the court, her superior. She had every right to talk to the lady.

She quickly walked towards the enchanting blond, not too fast as it would make her seem desperate, but not too slow as to encourage some oblivious people the chance to get her attention. She was almost to the lovely lady when a particularly dull man from Chernaya Luna came in front of her. He was an odious fool who was probably coddled from birth as he talked about something that she had no interest in and frankly she doubts that he even knew it as well as he claimed but he still kept on talking. She tried to show subtly that she was done with this conversation and would like to leave but he just would not take a hint. And he somehow thinks that he was worth of even touching her.

“Oh my, is that you? It’s been so long, my dear.”

She turns away from the horrid brat in front of her to see the woman that she was coming over to meet.

“Excuse me but you are-“ the brat whined.

“Yes, it has **been** far too long. We simply must catch up.” Like she would want to spend another moment in his presence. They quickly rushed away from him before he could say another word.

They were at the other side of the room before they check behind them, and then the gorgeous blond gave a hearty laugh.

“Thank goodness I was able to get to you or you might be dealing with his boring prattle all night,” she then turned around and gave a small curtsy, “Lady Minako of the House of Venus.”

She was still stunned by the lovely laugh that she took a few moments to remember her own name.

“Lady Anzu Mizaki, of the Ushil Holding.”

“Oh, it seems I have the pleasure of meeting a future duchess. Well, I’m sure that you have _very_ important people to meet here so I’ll be on my way.”

She turned to dive into the crowd of people where Anzu feared that she will never see her again. But she didn’t want to seem _too_ desperate (even though she was in her heart of hearts) so she did her best to keep the blond there for just a little bit longer.

“And do you think of yourself as unimportant?”

She turned back, and Anzu swore that there was a calculated look in her eyes for a few moments.

“Are you implying that you wished to stay in my company?”

“To be frank, I was in truth looking for you when that weasel found me and dragged me into that horrid conversation. So yes, I would like to stay with you.”

A warm smile came over her face as they talked for the rest of the night. And had quite a few more encounters over their shared time at the palace. She was interested to learn that Mina (a nickname she is called only by those close to her) was a close friend of the crown princess Serenity, among other ladies. But she also enjoyed the look on Mina’s face when she learnt that _she_ was close to the King and several of his advisers.

They chatted, rode (which the blond was better at), danced (which she was proud to state that she was better at), and even dueled (which consisted of her learning from Minako who probably took a a bit _too_ much pleasure in her failings in the learning process). And though this all she was finding herself falling deeper and deeper with the enchanting blond. So when Mina was getting ready to return back to her land, she brought the blond to a private area where she speak her desires.

\-----

“ _Oh_ , are you… suggesting that _we_ start a miriage? Together?” the vixen smirked in front of her, knowing quite well that that is her intention.

She counted to ten, calming down ask she prepared her words.

“Yes. If you feel that you cannot, I will bother you no further. If you wish to merely play around, I would rather you tell me now so you can find someone who seeks the same. You do not have to answer right now, not even this week, but I would rather deal with a heartache now than a broken one later.”

She paused, letting the woman in front of her understand the seriousness of her feelings. She looked at the face that had become part of her fantasies and saw as it took a more serious turn.

“You know that that is not something to offer lightly. To share your heart with someone who for all you know could be using what you tell them as a tool against you. Or even a tool for assassination.”

“…Yes, but I would like to believe that I have better judgement that to trust just any pretty face.”

She saw as Mina’s gained some lightness in her expression, though there always seem to be a bit of darkness as she gave her reply.

“Well, I _am_ a very pretty face, you know. We’ll have to work on getting a good transport system if we want to even hope of having _this_ work.”

Anzu smiled at that.

“Yes, yes we should.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Behold! The dumbass crack ship that fucks over any chance for Anzu/Puzzleboy(pick your poison) to be cannon in this story! But for real, I'm quite happy with this silly little ship of mom friend/blond bi disaster. I've always had it in mind that Anzu in this AU is gay as fuck, hence one of the reasons she's picky about her future husband (she wants a guy who she can talk to who's not _too_ attracted to her). It also show the concept of miriage i.e. socially accepted cheating. The basic concept is that people (and by people I mean rich/noble people) can be in a relationship with a partner of the same sex while in a hetero marriage. Most countries on the western continent claim that it started there, and most all of them approve of it on some level. This is also (another) reason why Atem's existence is so scandalous, as well as the side piece his daddy had when he was around. TL;DR Anzu gay & Queer relationships are accepted... kindof
> 
> Anyway, please write and leave a comment. Hope you have a nice day.


	8. The Many Seductions of Lord Bakura

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Characters: Lord Bakura, Malik, mentioned Ryou, Anthy, Atem, Afekia  
> Point in timeline: various  
> Warnings: manipulation, assholery, bad people falling in love with each other, Yami Bakura/Malik

The first time that he had to play someone was when he had to trick some brat who was keeping his sister from having a better chance at a good marriage. Sure, on paper it seem like a good life to be the child of someone so close to the king, but everyone in the kingdom had a very strict conduct for what a person can and cannot do and being the mistress of the king was a capital moral offense, never mind that the king had his balls crushed to the point that it would be a miracle if he ever had kids of his own, never mind that most of their 'intimate time' was so chaste that the horses in the stable get more action, never mind that his own father, her husband, doesn't give a fig and the queen was the one who crushed his balls to begin with.

No, in everyone's eye they were immoral and dirty, no person of good standing would have anything to do with their family more or less have familial ties with them. It was fortunate that Amane was able to find a husband with a foreign trader so early on in this affair. But the king has been getting sicker by the day and he knows that his self-righteous heir would do nothing as his family falls into ruin.

But if Ryou was the Maiden of Nobility, she could choose a good husband and have that asshole pay for everything. She could have her choice of anyone she wants. She could secure herself a good future.

So, he used every trick in the book to make her such. He made the more fanciful fall in love with some other deluded soul, he made the arrogant act out in front of the judges, and had even convinced one to join a convent to Ma’ta due to her sinful feelings for Ryou (despite the fact that having a lover of the same sex is the only kind of cheating that is actively encouraged in their social group). He had almost gotten her there, just one more girl to get out of the way before she secures the spot that will help her in her in the long run.

The very last one to hang on was an arrogant brat from a lesser house named Kaoruko Himekoji, a red head who had a lovely face to compensate for her horrid attitude. He had heard through associates that the reason that she was even doing this in the first place was to get the chance to become queen herself. As if the trade agreement that the crown prince’s marriage will insure wouldn’t devastated the country. But he _could_ use that…

He met her in hallway, a dark one. Used a fake name. He flattered her looks, something she ate up like children ate pastries. He claimed that he was taken in by her and wanted to have a secret relationship.

It was months of sneaking around, hiding his disgust with her, faking sweet words, before she suggested they took things to a more… _intimate_ level. He granted her that time. And squealed like a pig to the judges about it. Every kiss. Every touch. Even the sex they had not even a fore week before.

He relished the look of devastation that the bitch had when he had revealed what they had done together. The last he heard of her was that she was to marry an old, rich man… with several sons already.

*********

The second time he used some fool was when he had to find himself a bride. Again, most of his more respectable peers wouldn’t want him part of their family even with the reasonable amount of land that he had as the future lord of Cromwell. And those that **were** willing to have him as a son-in-law had shitty prospects themselves.

He had found a certain gentleman who was going to try to marry his eldest to a rich merchant. this gentleman also had a fondness for younger partners and particularly enjoyed a slighter form in a man. He had met the man as a gala that he had weaseled out from some other noble, had introduced himself under an alias, after all his family was not the most well regarded, and proceeded to wine and dine the man for months on end. He was not able to get the eldest, which was well and good for the both of them, but he was able to learn about a merchant with wide influence, good political connections abroad, was ignorant of his own family shame in court, **and** a fat wallet who will give a handsome dowry to the man who would marry his only child.

He had gone to write a letter to the man to ask for an attempt to court his daughter, making sure to emphases his connections to the crown (which were temporary at best) and his own land (which was not the best in Esmia but certainly not the worst).

He had arranged a meeting between all parties at once.

As soon as he got to the meeting place, he played up his charm for the both of them. The merchant was enchanted quite quickly. His daughter, not so much.

He probed and charmed and did everything in his playbook to no avail. It took weeks before he even got the hint that the girl was more interested in books than in the company of a man. With this knowledge, he finally got her to marry him, by promising to let her pursue her interests, and even rule when he is not available, as long as there were at least one or two heirs for his title in the end.

After that he had quite a few flings with other gentry, getting some good trade deals out of it., all the while his wife dealt with his lands and read to her heart’s content.

**************

He was quite adept at the game when he had tried his hand at bedding the king. it would actually be quite pleasurable seeing the young man lose control and have his startling green eyes widen in the throats of passion. To have him arch for his touch and have his ruler beg for his touch with a needy plea in his baritone voice.

Unfortunately, he only got scratched in the face for his troubles

He just spotted the young king and was walking towards him when he felt something pass below his legs. He looked down to see a white, fluffy cat. He tried to move away from the hairball when it jumped up and got its claws.

RIGHT.

**IN.**

** HIS. **

**_ FACE _ ** .

He struggles to get that demonic thing off him when he heard the worst word in the entire world. His name.

"Florence, come here."

Magically, the white terror got off and walked over to the Queen Mother with a swagger in its step.

"Florence, you really should be more careful," she said as she lifted the demon in white "Are you going to be a good boy now, mister?"

The being was calm and sweet for her, it even fucking purred in her arms. She looked at him, and his damaged face.

"Oh, Lord Bakura. I did not know that you were going to be here. Please forgive Florence for his little mistake. he just doesn't know any better," she explained with a calm smile on her face.

He has the distinct feeling that she was referring to him instead of the cat.

Now that he thought of it, he _did_ hear that quite a few people who expressed interest in the king were attacked by animals, such as Lady Telia being butted into the mud by a billy goat, Lord Delvin and the embarrassing incident with a rabbit, and Lady Naque having her dress ruined by an unruly falcon. Hell, he even heard that the elder of Lord Hanasaki's two sons was stomped to death by a horse.

He had decided to give the king and his demonic bitch of a mother a wide breath of space from now on.

******************

The last pursuit of conquest that Bakura had ever done was to the brother of Lady Isis, a handsome lord named Malik. They had met at the formal ball to the people of Beibesa (mostly the princess’s family with a notable name from their courts trying to tie their lands together even further), who were quite busy with their own country and could not come until **five fucking** **years** after the new king was crown. This delay has kept Isis family from learning about the fact that the king had son that _no one_ knew about, that the crown will chose it’s wearer by blood and given no consideration for qualifications (among other things), **and** that Seth was turned into a furry monster by the new king’s bitch of a mom and still has to deal with the effects of this curse even after he somehow broke the damn thing(it almost made him _like_ the woman).

This, of course, pissed of her ass of a father. For her following through with her arranged marriage. That he was _very_ involved in making.

Fortunately, the fit he displayed when he heard this news had him banned from all other gatherings and limited him to his room and the baths.

He had noticed that the young lord, unlike his own father, took great enjoyment from the news that, while she is still a major player in her own right, she was, in fact, **not** the queen. That title was still held by the bitch in the tower, though the royal bastard’s mom _was_ called ‘queen mother’ (he personally taken to calling her bitch witch, in his head, where she would never find out about, probably). he had lovely dark skin, like freshly lacquered wood, which brought out violets in his eyes and made his stunning sun-ray hair stand out all the more. He was dressed nicely in a lovely cream and gold outfit made of thinner fabric than any other that he saw in his life, with his muscular arms being hinted at in a way that made Bakura want to tear off his cloths to see what is underneath. Unfortunately, he was not the only one who noticed the handsome lord.

Many a lord and lady took Malik to the dance floor. _Too_ many. And he was sitting with his sister near the front, unlike Bakura’s own seat, which was in the middle and on the same side as Malik so he couldn’t even catch a glimpse of him looking to the king.

He had hoped to even catch him when the game rooms open but instead, he kept running into that asshole Afekia (who stupider people seem to think has a strong resemblance to his own person). He’s pretty sure the asshole was following him the whole night.

And the rides the next day.

And the performance the day after that.

It was only on the last day when he had any contact with the elusive lord. And like Zorc’s tainted ballsack was he going to mess this up.

He moved slowly towards the blond, checking behind him to see if the annoying spy master was behind him. he wasn’t, but there was a damned goat that headbutted him so hard he fell on his face.

The blond turned swiftly towards him.

“Oh, there you are. You know, I’ve been wanting to meet you for quite a bit, though it seems like the goat got to you first.”

The damned thing bleated at that.

“Well, then you must join me for some **_skewed goat_** ,” he said with a glare at the accursed thing.

It bleated again before leaving to terrorize some other group. The alluring blond laughed at that. He tried to retain _some_ dignity by getting up and wiping the dirt off of his clothes.

“Perhaps we introduce ourselves before the goat comes again. I am Malik Ishtar, the Beyzade of Al’ Aradia Al Sawda. And you?”

“Lord Bakura, Earl of Abron. I’m pretty sure that most of the country know _of_ you, due to how close you are to the crown, but I would prefer to learn _about_ you if you get my drift.”

“Interesting, but is it my mind you wish to know or… something else?”

“That I’ll leave up to you.”

They had a grand time, during which Malik confessed that he felt that his sister was keeping him from anything fun, including the intriguing stranger that had captured many a heart while at court. Surprisingly, their time together had been relatively chaste, with only a soft kiss when they said their goodbyes.

After that, they had exchanged letters quite frequently, where they gossiped about all the drama and scandals that happened in their representative countries. They had also talked about the men they’ve slept with, which built up to describing what they would do to the other when next they meet, and it somehow became a way to talk about their actual _emotions_. And then something happened that even he was shocked by. He fell in love with the sly asshole. As in actual love, not what he professes to some lovestruck idiot to get into his pocketbook.

****************

It was a rainy day when he went to talk with Malik about his… proposition.

“Malik… I- I would like it interest you in a… deal I have been thinking of for a while.”

He stared into those lilac eyes, taking his silence as a sign to continue.

“Well… since we both seem to have good correspondence over our letters, and we both enjoy each other’s company when we could, not to mention that how our interests both align… I was just thinking that we could, in some capacity, have a more…intimate relationship of sorts… if you are wish to obviously. No pressure.”

There was a pause. He felt jittery and nervous, things that he hadn’t felt since he was first introduced to court and really understood just how the real world _worked_.

“Are you asking me to be in a Kallunal with you?” the lovely blond said.

“…What?” he blurted up, confused about that statement.

“Oh, should I have call it a Miriage, since that **is** the term for it in this country?” he smugly said back.

… He didn’t know why he found himself aroused by the others arrogant attitude but quite frankly he didn’t care.

“If you’ll have me, I’m sure we can arrange something.”

“I’m sure we will.”

And, somehow, they stayed together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here is the end for this little mini arc, where we meet Ryou's asshole older brother. I kind of enjoy just how wicked this guy is, especially since his little attempt at seducing the innocent king reviled some of Anthy's work around the palace. And if you're wondering why he wasn't there when Ryou was doing her sacred duty, well... it's pretty much due to the fact he **hated** Seth, and he also takes great pleasure in his newly transformed state.
> 
> Thank you for reading and I hope you have a nice day. Also please leave a Kudos and Review if you liked it, loved it, hated it, or just wanted to ask something.


	9. Musings of a King

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Characters: Atem  
> Point in timeline: Second year of King Atem, day after ball  
> Warnings: rambling thought process

There are few moments these days where He could just sit and think. To just take a moment and breath. To figure out his thoughts and really take in the entire situation.

Sure, there is the throne that he sits on for what feels like most of the day, but he always feels on edge, like one wrong move and he’d have his head cut off. Not that anyone would say something like that to his face. Even after a full year of it, it still feels weird how everyone’s treating him. Like somehow, he’s changed just because people know who his dad is.

Well, mostly unchanged.

He still remembers the small farm he and mama had growing up. It wasn’t much but it was enough to get by, better that some of the other people in the slums that had to beg to get by. Of course, some of his closer friends from before still treat him the same, Mahado, Mana, Afekia, and Mai to name a few, but they’re all busy too, with jobs and running spy academies and doing guide work and starting a school and making names for themselves on their own merit rather than just luck like him. And there are others who changed, who tried to use him, who thought that he knew all along. And that still hurts, even after all this time.

And then there is everything going on in the palace. The Sun Palace according to one of his advisers. He didn’t even know there were other castles around the kingdom. It seems like whenever he tries to speak to someone, even if it is to complement them, they apologize and shuffle away. Not to mention that his relationship with his cousin, which he’s still trying to get use to _that_ is tense at best. At least there is Yugi and Ryou. They’ve been the best in helping him get use to his new role. And even just spending time with him has really helped him in a major way. Sure, Isis is there but she’s also ruling her and Seth’s land and helping the older guards retire while getting fresh faces in their place. And Mama’s been busy taking care of the few animals left from the attack last year. And a few other things that she won’t tell him but the fact she even lived at the palace at all was shocking to him.

There’s also this new friendship that he has with Serenity, or as she told him to call her ‘Usagi’. She’s a very sweet girl, a bit dim if her many losses last night were any indication, but she took those losses like a champ and was always willing to play again. But it really shows that’s she’s grown up in privilege when she seems so at ease with the servants and having them bring things over. But she’s so nice about it she makes getting a second drink seem like it was an act of Wveny. She was even able to make some of them laugh! It’s almost like she has this aura around her that makes people feel at ease, even with her high status.

Actually, she reminds him a lot like Yugi now that he’s thinking about it. They tend to be very good with people and can remember the smallest details about them. But while the princess draws people in, Yugi seems to stick to the shadows, still just as kind and caring, but far more willing to put the spotlight on others rather than herself. Not that’s she’s a pushover. She once insulted some pushy guy by saying he’s trying to compensate for his small dick. It still brings a smile to his face whenever he thinks of the look on his face. Actually, a lot of things Yugi does make him smile once he thinks about it.

_Knock, knock, knock._

“Your majesty, it’s time to wake up.”

He snorted before getting up from his bed. Oh well. Best to think about that for another day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's a little something I wrote to get into Atem's head as he kind of just takes everything in that's happened since his accidental crowning a year ago. Hope you read, review, enjoy, and have a nice day.


	10. Home

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Characters: Afekia, Anthy, Atem (lots of A names here, right?)  
> Point in timeline: first year of King Akhenamkhanen  
> Warnings: survival mode baby thief king, referred/implied/obvious genocide talked about, foul mouthed TKB

He was starving when he came into view of that cursed city. The place where his villages murderers languish in fancy houses, not knowing that he was alive. Alive and angry as hell.

His stomach roared.

He knew how to get something for his aching belly. But he didn't see his usually targets, and he was too far away from the woods to savage there.

He heard the bleating of a goat. He dashed over to the area.

He scouted the area to find food, where there was only one lady tending to a small farm with several chickens, pigs, ducks, and a nursing goat. She looked around Shema age, before she was killed, her face hided from him with her purple hair.

He moved quietly, focusing on the basket of eggs that she was carting around. She placed it on the ground. Perfect.

He was almost there when-

"Oh, gracious, what are you doing there, little chick?"

He froze.

"You really can't just leave your nest like that."

He hid, expecting to see her over him at any moment.

"Oh, do you not have anyone?"

He froze.

"Is that why you're here?"

....

"Well, you can't do fly if you hungry, can you?"

He felt his eyes water.

“How about I take you inside and we could give you a nice warm meal, O.K.?”

He knows that those words weren’t meant for him. He fucking knows this. But for a moment, it felt like she was calling to him.

Like he wasn’t alone.

Like someone _gave_ a fuck about him.

“Bwa.”

He stared at tiny thing in front of him, green eyes that took up his face. Probably no older than…

“Ah, it seems we have another little chick, right honey?” she smiled, no signs of shock on her face.

He didn’t know when he started crying, but by the time he was done, there was a warm bowl of… something in front of him. He didn’t remember what it tastes like, but for the first time in months (maybe even years?) he felt like he belonged.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's a bit of background on the Thief King here. Honestly, I think the only reason he's better than his cannon counterpart here is that he had someone watching over him, even if it's a woman who has a similar goal to him in fucking up the Monarchy. He also has a better relationship with Atem due to him not being the son of the king who was the cause of his hometown's destruction, but as the dumb babe of the kind lady who took him in afterwords.
> 
> Hope you read, review, and have a nice day.


	11. Born to Ride

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Characters: Atem, Yugi  
> Point in timeline: first year of King Atem  
> Warnings: none

Atem rode through the area with a confidence that made it seem like he has been riding for years instead of months. Yugi looked on as Atem got his horse, a dun mare he named Zelda, to trot backwards, then leap over one of the old stone fences from some bygone era.

She still remembers teaching him about the proper way to get on one. He took to riding like a fish took to water. In no time he became even better than Seth, who due to his current state can no longer ride his beloved steed.

They explored the fields some more, theoretically learning about how to be kingly while out in public but mostly they were just riding to get away from the stress that they have to endure running a nation. She relishes these moments where they could enjoy themselves in the freedom and excitement in those moments.

She was probably staring at him too long, since he _did_ point it out.

“Yugi?” he turned to her with a confused look on his face.

“It’s nothing.”

He looked at her like he believed her as much as he believed Mana didn’t cause some kind of trouble for the snobbier nobles.

“… I was just taking in how beautiful the sights are here.”

He smiled, “Yes, it really it a stunning area.”

They enjoyed the silence for a few minutes, before the bell tower rang, a warning that night was coming.

“Well, I guess we’ll have to go back.”

“Yeah…” he then turned his horse to the palace, with her own steed, a paint pony she childishly named U2 when she was first given him as a gift from Anzu, trotting behind him. The ride back was far slower then when they got here.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A little bond time for the two tri-heads, maybe a build up to something more?
> 
> Hope you enjoy and have a nice day.


	12. Why we do what we do

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Characters: Afekia, Atem  
> Point in timeline: third year of King Akhenamkhanen  
> Warnings: talks of death, kids imagining revenge

“Afey?”

The young thief turns to his host’s son (can’t think of them as family, he already lost _his_ ), a tiny thing even for his age, staring at him with a look like he’s going to ask something. It can almost be annoying how curious the little thing is, always asking about anything and everything.

“Yeah, spiky?”

“Where’d you come from?”

He paused.

“A- a village. Kul Elna. Where the plains meet the desert. Quite a bit of a walk.”

“Oh. It is nice there?”

“… Yes, in it’s own way. Not what people from around here would call nice, but nice all the same.”

“Really? What’s the best?”

“Feh, obviously the sunsets. Yeah, you can get them here but _there_ , there are no trees blocking the sun so you can really see the colors the sky turns as Ra goes down to the underworld to rest after a hard days work. And you can even see him shimmer as Yvta and her husband Noerin takes control of the sky. Almost like he is leaving Oulra with a kiss, a promise to come back tomorrow.”

“Oulra, Who’s that?”

“The goddess of the sky, the watcher of all, the one who reports to Osiris what a person has done in this realm.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, there was a temple to he in the center of town. Mostly columns and a slab on top, but it was the best place to star-gaze.”

“Really? Can we go there?”

He was knocked out by those memories to the present day.

“N-no. it- its’s gone.”

“Really, why?”

And just like that, those _fucking_ words brought him straight into the memories of the attack. Kul Elna’s destruction. By the king who was supposed to protect them.

He saw the flames, heard the screams of the village, smelt the burning wood and flesh combine into an unholy concoction that only a twisted god like Zorc could accept as a sacrifice.

He vaguely recalled hearing the brat ask again and again, before his mother herald him to some corner to play. He felt a blanket cover his shoulders and some hot tea put right in front of him, within arm’s reach but far enough that he wouldn’t spill any on himself if he had another attack.

Thankfully he didn’t have another attack, but by the time he was able to move his limbs again, the tea had gone stone cold. It should have pissed him off, but he just felt numb.

He trudged to bed. Not wanting to deal with anything after _that_. He dreamed of the king and priests all burning as they had burnt his home. It was a nice dream.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You know, I'm not 100% sure that anyone's even reading this story from the look of things. Maybe it's too weird or not to someone taste. Maybe it's just badly written. But you know what, fuck it. I'm writing this for me and if anyone else actually likes it, than it's a bonus. but because no one is telling when to write, might as well just limit posting to days when I don't feel like there is a water balloon up my nose and my throat doesn't hurt every time I sneeze. So, all I'm going to do is post 30 pieces of writing over the month when I have the time.
> 
> Hope you have a better day than I do.


	13. New Guard

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Characters: Honda, Joey  
> Point in timeline: second year of King Atem  
> Warnings: None?

It was the day that his group of trained guards came to the palace to be instated and moved to their positions around the country. They had just finished training for what felt like months after the older member left for retirement. He hopes all the best to them and all but he was also excited to see the capital for the first time. He was from a fairly big town but he just didn’t have time before to travel before the call for guards had come in. he had jumped at the chance. A good amount of them came from the outskirts of the kingdom, including his training mate, Joey. He came from some town close to Atlantis called Domino. Apparently, it was close to the sea, at least that’s what Joey said.

“Woo, we’re finally here!” the excited blond shouted.

“Yeah, it was tough but now we’re here,” he joined in, “Yeah, babes, blades, and food. What’s not to love?”

“Yeah, we get to see all those beauties at the palace, while most of the assholes that flunked would have to settle for some dumb bitch that their mama picked out for them.”

“Maybe we would even see Miss Yugi after training,” said Dave, another guard that passed alongside them.

Joey turned around to stare at the other blond in shock.

“Yugi. Yugi Mouto.”

“Yeah, she’s currently helping the king with getting use to his crown. She is always so sweet and really enjoys getting to know the people coming in. I was actually one of the first group that came after several of the old guard left. Don’t worry, most of them retired but a few just moved to other places,” Dave said before he moved on to talk to some of the other groups.

He’s pretty surprise that Joey was unaware of that.

“Oh, so you’re not aware of the Maidens and the fact that they are helping the new king get the hang of kinging. I mean, I though everyone knew about Yugi and Ryou. They’ve only been training since they were ten,” he said as he drunk some more mead and ask the girl to fetch another round for their group.

“Eight.”

He turned back at the blond.

“…She was eight when she left. Don’t know about the other one though.”

“Wait, are you saying that you _knew_ her? And you didn’t tell me?”

“Hey, man, we weren’t close or anything, it’s just that one day she was there ‘nd next she was gone.”

“Oh… at least you know someone important.”

“…Yeah…”

Joey mood stayed dark for the rest of the night, even leaving at sundown to go back to their quarters.

“What’s got him down?”

“No idea, bud, no idea.”

He went back to his drink and stayed well into the night. Thinking about the news and how this could wreck everything.

He had a good thing going for him here. He can fight, earn money, and be the guy he always was. But Yugi… she was always the quite one who knew more than she let on and if she told anyone… No. He’ll make sure she told _no one_ of who he left behind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In case it isn't clear enough, Joey here is a trans man.
> 
> Hope you read, review and have a nice day.


	14. Confrontations of a Personal Matter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Characters: Joey, Yugi, Afekia  
> Point in timeline: second year of King Atem  
> Warnings: threatening language, almost misgendering

She was almost to the library, the public one, when she was grabbed by her shoulder and dragged to one of the more deserted halls. she suppose that a normal reaction would be to scream or get away, but she didn’t feel anything malevolent from her temporarily captor. And even if they did do something, she was certain that they would not escape here unscathed.

She turned to them. They looked to be a tall man, wearing armor like one of the new guards that were here to be knighted, with the helmet of to show his dark blond hair and his brown eyes. Oddly enough she felt as if she recognized the face. Wait a minute…

“Aren’t you Grac- “

“It’s Joey. Joey Wheeler,” he glared at her, a serious look that she had never seem he-him have from what small piece she had about the taller, “‘Nd I don’t know what the heck has happen in you life, but if you ever even think to tell anybody about that name, I’ll-“

“What’s going on here?”

Gr..Joey turned to his left, looking at Afekia. She kept her eyes on him, seeing the dread blooming on his face as he recognized the man in red walking towards him. He did not say anything but considering how he looks when people he cares about are threated, he was probably terrifying without words to disturb his menace. She caught the red of his jacket from the side as the spy master gave the new guard a look that promises many nasty things in their future.

“Well, I’m waiting.”

G-Joey looks like he was going to faint. And so Yugi cut in with a bold-faced lie.

“Well, you see, Joey was a friend from Domino, you see, and well… he really didn’t like his _real_ name so he always preferred being called Joey. But, well, it’s been so long since we’ve seen each other that I forgot this and called him by the wrong name. And Joey, well, he felt really frustrated about that so he came over here to remind me of that. Of course, he probably let his anger bleed into his tone, making it _seem_ like he was threating me, but really was just reminding me of something that I really should have remembered. I mean, there’s no way that a newly minted guardian of the country would do anything as stupid as threaten to harm someone so close to the king, right?”

Afekia look at her like he knew she was lying, but didn’t call her out as he turned to walk away.

“No… I suppose not. But, don’t forget,” he turned back around as he walked backwards into the shadows, “I’ve got my eye on you.”

Neither of them relaxed until the echoes of the former thief king’s shoes were gone.

“Why?”

She turned back to the taller.

“I’m... sorry?”

“Why did you tell that bastard that steaming pile of bullshit? You could have easily let him take me out.”

She thought on that, more to figure out the right way to explain herself, before settling on an explanation.

“Because I don’t want to get someone hurt for no good reason. And even of we weren’t close to each other when we were younger, that does not mean that I don’t owe you the right to refer to you by your proper name.”

The blond stared at her for a while before bursting into tears. And so, Yugi had to spend the next hour comforting the form of the man who would become on of her most loyal protectors and closest friends.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here is the start of the Yu-Jou friendship in this wacky AU here, complete with Yugi saving Joey's butt. And let me tell you, if it wasn't for Yugi, Afekia would have made Joey's time at the palace **painful**.
> 
> Hope you read, review, and have a nice day.


	15. Old Guard

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Characters: Honda, Celtic Guardian, Black Luster Soilder  
> Point in timeline: second year of King Atem  
> Warnings: conspiratorial talk, mention of brothels

“So… what’s with all the fresh blood in the royal guard? Not that I’m complaining, of course.” Honda asked one of the guys that’s been here longer.

The older man gave him an embarrassed grimace before turning away and going back to his drink.

He didn’t ask him again, but whenever he ask something along those lines to one of the senior members, they would refuse to answer. Now one guy doing that was fine, not everyone was use to the fact that some kid out of nowhere turned out to be the king’s son with the enchanted crown to prove it, but every single person!!! It almost makes him think that something horrible’s going to happen to him.

“For Thoth’s sake, what the fuck’s going on here?” he shouted in the bunkers.

“Eh, da fuck are ya talkin’ about, Honda?” bunkmate number one, also as the most oblivious man in the world and one of the few friends he made here, said as he changed into his sleeping wear. Weird man, that Joey, wearing a shirt on a night like this.

“I’m talking about how everyone’s so tightlipped on why there are so many new people here?”

“Why do you care? If it wasn’t for them quitting, you wouldn’t be here to begin with,” Dave, bunkmate number two, pointed out as he laid in for the night. Their third bunkmate was fast asleep, ready to wake early in his annoyingly farmboy way.

“Because whatever happened to them might happen to us! And I don’t know about you but I don’t want to be sent home because of some slipup or whatever it is that happened,” he said as he tried to relax in his cot, even punched the pillow a few times to get all this energy out.

“You know, if you’re so dead set on this, how about after our shift, we go talk to Zoru.”

“Zoru?”

“Yeah, he’s been around for a while, even helped train me back in Mephahor.”

“… Fine,” he conceded as he shut his eyes, hoping to at least get _some_ shut-eye in before tomorrow.

*****

After third shift he went to the pub while Joey met with his mystery friend, the one he meets every Tuesday and refuses to tell him the name of. Looking around for a bit, he spotted Dave in the back corner with a tower of a man, almost as tall as the cursed prince and just as intimidating, with his sharp, almost black eyes cutting through the air as his long red hair tie high on his head. He almost wanted to leave, but before he had the chance to move, Dave waved him over.

“Hey Honda, here’s the guy to ask. Boss, here’s Honda, the guy we were talking about.”

He came over only to see the bear of a man with a blush on his face and a strong scent of booze about him.

Dave must have seen his doubts because he smacked him across the back, pushing him to the drunk old man who could easily smush him like a bug.

“Come on, _you’re_ the guy who wanted to meet him in the first place.”

“… Are you sure that he’s up to it?

“Sure I’m sure.”

“Really?”

“Hey, have I ever steered you wrong?”

He thought about it before taking a deep breath.

“So tell me, do you know why most of the old guard retired so suddenly? And should we worry that it could happen again?”

He took a long drink from his ale before answering.

“Well, unless the new king there has a brat none of us are aware of, and they’re being raised by an enemy of the state at this moment, the chances of _that_ happening are slim to none.”

“… What do you mean?”

“I mean that the reason most of those **cowards** left was because they were attacking the king when he was trying to get some prisoners out of jail. Course, we only found out that he was the king when he was crowned, well, more like re-crowned if the evidence is anything to go by.”

“Like?”

He took another long drink before going back to his story.

“well, you see, the day the prince, and I mean the prince everyone knew since he was a babe prince, as suppose to be crown, well, you know those old stories about the crown being enchanted so the next of kin will be crowned. Like say the queen had an affair and tries to pass the kid off his, that kid would not be crown and it would go to his younger sibling, unless the do some other ritual, but no ones ever done it in, in all the times before. As it turns out, it works on baster, basters, kid out of marriage too. So, just when it was put on the prince’s head, the two maidens, you know who they are now don’t you? Anyway, they were teleported out of the castle. Scared more than a few folks that day. Anyways, the old high priest, you know, the old man with one eye and a stick up his ass, well, he got the guards to gather up the folks from the slums from the city, use to be quite bad there before, and he put them in the dungeons. Well, as it so happened the king, the current right now king just so you know, was from that area and the woman the high priest was so focused on was his mama. And you know there is nothing a man won’t do to help his mama. So, he stormed in with a ragtag bunch, got caught, got released, started a fight right in the main halls, and bing, bang, boom, he was crowned king again, complete with witnesses and evidence and all that. And after learning that they were attacking the proven heir, well, more than a few quit straight out of shame, and a good portion more went to train their replacements, like they hated to be reminded of their failure. Failure, ha, no one outside of the girl knew he was royal until the crown zapped onto his head. And frankly, there needs to be some form of stability, some people of the old ways, to make sure the people’s voice is heard. Not like there wasn’t some good things that came from those changes. Like the brothels.”

He stared at the man, who went on to talk about his first time at one of the legal brothel houses and his time with the curvy minx that served him. he stayed with the old man until well into the night, where he had to leave with Dave to get back before the barreks master locked them out for the night.

“Well… that was something.”

“Yeah.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dave- Celtic guardian  
> Zoru- Black Luster Solider  
> ***  
> And here's the first story from this series from the perspective of a lowly guard.
> 
> Hope you read, review, and enjoy.


	16. Loathing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Characters: Anzu, Joey, Yugi  
> Point in timeline: second year of King Atem  
> Warnings: misgendering, people saying dead names, language

She was searching for Yugi, she wanted to see if Yugi wanted to go out to the theater for the latest concert, looking in the library with all of the games in it when she her friends taking to someone.  
“So, da’s a good hand, right?”  
“…For your opponent, yes.”  
She followed the voices to an unused room, that she vaguely remembers as an area where archers use to attack the charging forces though slits in the wall. There she found Yugi, sitting on the floor, teaching a guard how to play Bast’s Hand.  
“Anzu, hey… could you help me get up?”  
She helped her smaller friend get to her feet as Yugi patted all the dust off of her dress.  
She looked at the guard, puzzled at to why they looked so familiar, before when to the blond guard’s side.  
“Anzu, I would like you to meet Joey. Joey, this is Anzu Mizaki of Ushil.”  
She stared at the figure before her, sure she had seen the blond before but unable to pinpoint where.  
“It is a pleasure to meet you.”  
“Uhhh, same.”  
She joined them for a round or two, trying to figure out where she had seen them before.  
“Sooo, where are you from, if I may ask?”  
“Eh, just Domino. Now shuttap, I’ve gotta check my hand.”  
Really… She dug through her mind, trying to place where she saw that blond hair before.  
“Wait a minute… I know you!”  
The blond looked back, a dumb look on her face.  
“Eh!”  
“You’re Grace Wheeler, the stubborn blond who wore a green dress to the choosing committee.”  
Her eyes narrowed as Yugi tried to calm down the taller.  
“What did you call me?”  
“Your name, or at least the name you were given by your parents. Really, if you wanted to be a guard so badly, you could have just asked instead of dressing like a man. We do have female guards you know. Albeit a very small amount but still not worth putting on that whole man act.”  
She glared back.  
“… What?”  
she stood up and walked over before pointing her finger and poking at her to emphasize her words.  
I don’t know what ‘ou’re thinkin’ in dat fluffed up head of yours but I. AIN’T. NO. GIRL. GOT IT!”  
She felt herself get flustered.  
“Well, no offence but you didn’t exactly have balls last time I saw you.”  
“Fuck da shit, I don’t need balls to be a man!”  
“Well, last I checked, having balls was quite a big part in being male, or is that a country thing?”  
The glare that she got was intense but Anzu was not the kind of woman to back off from such intimidation tactics.  
“Feh, I woun’t expect someone like you to know what actually people are doin’, princess.”  
“And what is that supposed to mean?”  
“Oh, please, ya da one with de title, milady, and let me tell you da just means ya a dick with land, so ya can take ya suggestion ‘nd shove it up ya fat ass.”  
“Excuse me?!?!”  
“ Ya heard what I said. Shove. It. Up. Ya. Ass. Da.”  
They glared at each other before stomping away, leaving a confused and anxious Yugi in their wake.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahhh, the initial clash between Anzu and Joey. I really wanted to show that Anzu can be judgey and a bit subborn. And you can't forget Joey and his own temper. Poor Yugi, having to deal with _that_ fallout.
> 
> Hope you read, review, and enjoy.


	17. Shooting the Breeze

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Characters: Joey, Mai  
> Point in timeline: second year of King Atem  
> Warnings: Sex aftertalk, sexism discussion

He was staring at the celling, recovering from the world-shattering sex he just had. He thought that just because he was shaped differently from other guys he might never have a night of good sex, ‘specially ‘cause he didn’t have a dick to jack off. But his time with Mai proved that he was _very_ wrong in that idea.

“What you thinking about, hun?”

He turned to stare at the goddess beside him. Turn he did have to pay to be with her but honestly it was worth every penny.

“Just thinkin’ ‘bout… that. How you was able ta just… make me go like that? Like really feelin’ why folks would do this all the time, ya know?”

“Well, you’re certainly not the first man I’ve slept with that kind of equipment. And there are quite a few women in my guild that have a similar situation to you, only they _present_ differently then you, if you get my drift.”

“Yah that makes sense.”

He then rolled to the side, think about what Mai had just told him.

“So… is this gonna be a courtin’ thin’…”

She stared at him for a few moments before letting out a full-belly laugh.

“Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahhahahahahahahahaha.”

He gave a soft glare back at his bedmate, a bit pissed at her but he was both too content and too high of his orgasm to really put any heat behind it.

“Shesh, ya don’t gatta do somethin’ like da. I can undastand if ya don’t wanna.”

“Sor, hehe, sorry about it,” she giggled before her face shifted into a neutral form, “It’s just I’ve had too many customers who were _thought_ they loved me and wanted to ‘save me’ from my sinful lifestyle. Now don’t get me wrong, I’ve seen more than my fair share of girls who came in because of some demons that’ve happened in their past. But as for me, well, I’m a simple woman who loves money and sex and is perfectly find doing both to get ahead in life.”

He nodded.

“I ken respect dat. No muss, no fuss, just sex fer da sake of sex. Wait a minnate, does da mean-?”

She gave a soft chuckle before shaking her head.

“No, Joey, this is strictly off the books. And if you want another round…”

She then went back to showing him all the tricks she’s learned over the years to his good fortune.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's a fun little piece after the combative one last time, with my first written fore into sexy time writing... kind of. It's more a post-sex chat. And I just want ya all to know that Mai here is an aro pansexual.
> 
> Hope you read, review, and enjoy.


	18. Breaking in New Spies

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Characters: Afekia, Honda  
> Point in timeline: third year of King Atem’s reign  
> Warnings: general foul language

“Alright, do any of you bastards know why you’re here?” the white-haired maniac in from of him shouted. Honda didn’t know what he was suppose to say to the short man in front of him. All he knew was that he was told to come here after he was done training. The others looked equally as confused as himself.

Of course there is one asshole in every crowd. It’s just that this asshole shouted that he was here to fuck the shorty’s mom.

“Well good luck finding her corpse amongst the ashes. I suggest that you start running there **now**.”

The asshole decided to follow that advise and ran as far a he could from the deranged man in front of him.

“Anyone else have a guess?”

“A spy network.”

Honda turned to see a handsome guy, garbed in a chef’s outfit, who looked at the white-head as if to dare him to say any differently.

“Oh, looks like we have someone here with a brain. Now how did you come up with that answer?”

“Because you are the spymaster to the king.”

“And how did you learn that? Wait, now I recognize you. You’re the Kimoto’s eldest, right?”

“It’s Kino-“

“Don’t give a fuck. Now, I’m sure you fucknuts are wondering _why_ I want you to be part of my network of information and blackmail material. Well, the simple reason is that frankly, you all are forgettable. Like, I’ve asked several people if they remembered talking to you and not one of them could remember your name. And believe me, I’ve checked several times with different types of groups. Not one person remembered your name. Nota one. And that’s good for this job. See, while my current group is phenomenal, they’re far too recognizable to be good in the nobby crowds, especially since they’ve stolen a lot of shit before and nobbies tend to remember that. But you guys, you’re the type of people who can walk into the grand hall and stab a duke in the back and no one will be able to describe you face. You guys could learn every dark secret that some prick has and he won’t even know your there. You can topple dynasties with a bit of pressure and a few words to the right people. And you can do it without having anyone remember your name. And that is a power no one can take away from you. And I’m here to take your shit-coated potential and making it shine. I’m here to turn the weakest of you lot into the most deadliest of them all. I’ll take your dumbasses and make you as cunning as Thot.”

He doesn’t know about anyone else, but he was no feeling to into in after that speech.

“And you get paid 20 pieces of silver for each bit of useful shit you give me. Now, if you’re still chicken-shit about it, you can leave now.”

A few people left after that. As soon the door was closed by the leaving group, the commander gave a sinister grin.

“Well, now that you’ve made your choice, we have a _lot_ to do.”


	19. Love Line

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Characters: Honda, Miho, Ryou  
> Point in timeline: third year of King Atem’s reign  
> Warnings: none, unrequited feelings

Honda was walking around after another training session with Spy Master Afekia when he spotted out of the corner of his eye her. The up-and-coming priestess of Ma'ta, the recorder of all that occurs in court, the greatest beauty that he has ever seen, Miho, is right there. He takes in the sight of her enchanting lavender hair, brought up into a ponytail with a yellow ribbon to keep it up, her warm brown dress, a symbol of her devout nature, her lovely grey eyes, her slim and petite form. everything about her was perfect. She gracefully pasted him in the hall, the records from the day within her arms.

He even got a whiff of her intoxicating smell.

But by the time that he had gathered the courage to speak to her, she was too far away.

Love indeed was a cruel mistress.

****

Miho had just finished putting down the notes from today when she caught a glimpse of her secret heart's desire. The former Maiden of The Pure who represented the noble houses, the current advisor to the young king, a frequent visitor to the library, and the most beautify woman she had even saw, Ryou Bakura, was in the same room as her. No doubt that this was either a break for the hard-working woman or she was putting away a reference for important government business, so she shouldn't interfere. She was not worth of any relationship with such a wonderful person. she had far too many dreams of her hands in that soft white hair as she kissed her lovely lips, her bright green eyes darken as she does unspeakable things to her, her hands on Ryou's breasts, their forms intertwine as they make love all through the night. She always baths herself in cold water after such a dream. She doesn't even dare to even look in her direction until she knows that Ryou has left the room.

Ghau indeed was a cruel mistress.

****

Ryou was wandering the halls after putting back a book. her mind drifted to what kind of food would be served for dinner. While she quite likes the fish that has just finished being brought in via teleport, she had the distinct feeling that Atem has different feelings on that matter. There is always the option of lamb, but then again there was a deer that had just came in. She doubts that Akefia had convinced any of the cooks to serve pork again. That got her thinking about what kind of sides would be with the food, and then cream puffs danced into her head, and the teas and wines and..

She hit a prone man.

"Sorry."

She turns back to her daydreams as she walks back to her history lessons with Atem for the meeting with Früchtekorb.

It really was quite a lovely day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And after almost a week of no posting, here I am with a slew of pieces for this little passion project. This chapter is more of a silly bit of unrequited love from multiple angles, i.e. straight guy to gay girl to ace girl. And yes, in this story, Ryou is ace, in both sex and romance. It's not something that is ever going to be relative but it's something that I just wanted to add in.  
> Hope you read, review, and rejoice for a fun/safe Christmas/Hanukkah/whatever holiday you celebrate.


	20. Glimpse into the Soul

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Characters: Mahado, Serenity/Usagi, Minako,   
> Point in timeline: Second year of King Atem’s reign  
> Warnings: none

“So how **does** magic work?”

Mahado looked away from the latest document that he had to look over to see that Princess Serenity II, the Crown Princess of Argentèe Lune and another friend of Atem’s (though this is his first meeting with the visiting royal), had come into his classroom. The room was a bare-bone structure with a few seats and was quite distant from the guest rooms that the Princess and the other dignitaries are at, which shows that she had seeked him out for this inquiry. On one hand, this could be a way for Argentèe Lune and its neighbors to stop seeing the use of magic as a bad thing if the upper blue-bloods at the very least understand it. But on the other hand, there is the potential for them to pervert it into another tool for the powerful. But then again…

By the time he had decided to respond, several other young ladies and lords have come into the room, including Lady Mazaki, Yugi, Ryou, Isis, and the young Lord Hanasaki.

“Well, magic is an innate quality that every person in the world has. It is a connection force between the powers of the human soul and the forces of nature. I personally believe that everyone **has** the potential to use magic, but some people can access it more easily than others.”

“And those people use it to attack others,” Lady Hino stated in a scathing tone.

“Some do. And some use it to heal others. It really depends on the individual,” Mahado fired right back before continuing “And each individual has their own core magic.”

“Core magic?” Princess Serenity said with a confused look on her face, “What’s that?”

“Core magic… Why it is the seed of magic that every individual has inside of them. It is a combination of the element that reflects the person’s soul and a core desire that person has. This is the building block that a person has, and is the magic that they are most suited for. For example, I started out with the combination of Dark and Escape, but through study and training, I am able to many types of spells. But even though I know how to do use magic from other elements and with other purposes, spells that have to do with darkness or travel are the areas that I excel at,” Mahado said as he finished his lecture with a small display of flashy magic to both entertain his guests and to teleport the stone he needed for his next task.

And they will ask in… Three. Two. One.

“Ohhhh, so what’s **my** core magic, _Mister Magician_?” demanded Lady Aino.

“Why I’m glad you asked, my Lady. I happen to have a stone which is treated to reveal the core magic of the individual who holds it.”

He took out the stone, a black reflective one.

“… So how does it work?”

“It’s really quite simple. You just hold the stone in you hand,” He takes Lady Aino’s hand and places the stone in it, “close it up, and when you open you hand, your core magic will be shown.”

The lady, who was following the instructions accidently, looked into her hand in wonder. The others less so.

“And what is that supposed to mean?”

“Metal. Metal and Beauty. Two traits that reflect her essence. Now, would anyone else like to try?”

By the end of the night he had done everyone in the room, some were expected (Yugi was always a bright, helpful person who put others before herself), others less so (he always thought of Anzu as Air, but then again, he did not know her _that_ long). But all of them were interested in learning about magic, especially the future ruler Serenity.

He spent the rest of the week teaching the same thing to more people who heard from that group and wanted to hear from the horse’s mouth. By the end of the gathering, he sparked the interest of _quite_ a few parties in his school.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here is the next of the mini sagas, this time focusing on the development of the Magical Academy of Esmia.
> 
> Hope you read, review, and have a nice day.


	21. School House Blues

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Characters: Mahado, Dimir  
> Point in timeline: second-fourth year of King Atem’s reign  
> Warnings: none

He was tired. Tired of the stupidity. Tired of the egos. Tired of the chaos, backstabbing, and treachery. And he had only just started forming the school.

There were nobles that wanted to put their kids in his classes, parents who wanted to prevent their kids from going to his classes, priests that tried to stop the school from even getting off the ground, and other such problems. Not to mention certain _individuals_ that were, unfortunately, qualified to teach others magic. It made him dread the day that there would be students in his school.

Oh sure, it was easy to ask Atem’s mom to help teach a class or two, heck Atem even offered to come in once in a while, but he would like to have a group of teachers who could actually impart their wisdom to the next generation. A place where they could share their knowledge and experiences with one another, maybe even write books like the ones that he kept squirreled away in his meager hut not even two weeks ago.

The first person outside of his circle was one of the priestesses from the temple of Serqet, a lovely woman named Kosha. She is a master of healing and defensive magic, probably to prevent anyone from gaining the same huge burn scars on them like she does. She is a sweet, calm, and patient teacher, the only thing that could even be close to a flaw in her technique is her overly permissive attitude in her students. Unfortunately, Kosha was an outlier in how easy it would be to find good teachers for his budding academy. The next one showed him a more accurate picture of what to expect.

Dimir, a necromancer with a vast amount of magical skill... and an attitude to match. He had hoped that things would be easy. That he would want the prestige of being the first teacher of communication with the deceased in their fair (...ish) country. He was wrong. Dead wrong.

*****

"Oh, so _you're_ the posh idiot that's talking about making some centralized schooling for magic."

"... What?"

"And now you’re trying to get someone with actual **skill** into your staff? Well, you can take your offer and shove it up your ass."

"What have I done to warrant this attitude?"

"Oh, I don't know. Try to make rich idiots believe that all they need to do to use magic in with some lectures and words. Trying to get the arcane arts to be a standardized, one-size-fits-all model. Putting every mage with a decade of experience and the freshest crop of talent in the same area, just in time for the next turn around where the public hates magic again."

"Do you really think so low of the king?"

"The _king_? Ha. All you need is a good assassin and the nobs will go back to barbecuing witches and warlocks whenever the weather gets testy."

"A duel. If you win, I'll leave. If I win, you come teach."

*****

He lost. **Badly**.

Unfortunately, that asshole was the only necromancer he knew of that _wasn't_ ten feet under. And he would rather that he had a variety of talents in the teaching staff. Atem, or Afekia, must have told Miss Anthy, because a week after she left on a ride to the country, Dimir was at the gates, grumpy, covered in hives, and giving her the stick eye.

The asshole now needles him about the fact that he actually _knows_ the king, demands borderline illegal things (which he refuses to get for him… but the same could not be said for Afekia), tight leather outfits (Which both Atem and Yugi are equally fascinated by), and argues with him. Every. **Damn**. **Day**.

Fortunately, no one else on the staff is even **half** as difficult as Dimir.

That doesn’t mean that they are a walk in the park.

There was Eria, a prodigious summoner who quite frankly was a few sheets to the wind. Then, Mana found a remarkable pair of shapeshifters, Luna and Artemis… who’s preferred form are cats (that asshole Dimir takes great pleasure in tormenting him with his allergy to their furry form). Then there is the water mage who fears water, the fire mage _far_ too fond of fire, the wood mage with allergies (he sympathizes with her plight), and then there was the mage who is an expert on traps and enhancements.

She was quite willing to join… until she learns that Mana was, in fact, NOT the leader of the school. Then she insisted that sisters come with her. (Though he is quite unsure if they are blood-sibling, sibling -by choice, or a group of lesbians who referred to each other as siblings?) He didn’t see any problem with that, after all one of their country’s closest allies had women in charge of property, among other things.

Unfortunately, some of the new guards felt that these women are much like the one who had joined the pleasurable arts guild, who also had many recruits from all corners of the kingdom.

He could still see their terrified faces if he lets his mind wander.

There were many fights that came from the group, who called themselves Amazons. It was in fact the queen mother that suggested that the battle-harden woman join the guard. They took that and easily made a place in the guard, which just so happened to also strengthen their ties to Argentèe Lune and subtly impressed other nations they aligned with, though there are some who dislike the change even in their own boarders.

All these complications had worn him down, made him feel like his dream of a magic school was as real as Seth’s chance of gaining his human form back. He had to figure out the lesson plans, figure out what spell are safe to do for a beginner, if they should come to the school every day or have a dorm for their tutelage, how to find the students outside of the gentry and what resources to use. He just wanted to sleep. But then he got some encouragement from an unlikely source.

****

“You know, there are actually schools in Beibesa, specifically ones focused on your craft?”

“Really?”

“Mhm. I actually perfected my divinations there. I’m sure I can get an old tutor from there to help you out.”

****

He felt somewhat dumb after that, but the aid Isis’s old professor gave was more than enough to help him in establishing the school, with a few of his own touches to fit their style. It was close to the capital, a day’s journey from the palace, with an expansive field for student and teacher to cast, craft, and destroy with their spells to their hearts content. There were two dorm houses for students, split between genders, and all student wore the same black robes in class. This was done both to encourage the students to see each other as equals and, more importantly, the robes would be easy to clean with all the hands on learns that they did. There were of course lectures in the classrooms but just because he taught best by lecture does not mean that his fellow teachers were the same, especially Mana. She was really growing into her own and showed her students what the spell is suppose to do and has them do it in turn. It even seems like she grew a following among the students.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dimir-Dark Magician of chaos  
> Kosha- Mystic Elf  
> ***  
> And here we have more duel monster turned into people for this story.
> 
> Hope you read, review, and have a nice day.


	22. A First For Everything

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Characters: Mahado, Afekia, the poor Kuribo cleaner  
> Point in timeline: fourth year into King Atem’s reign  
> Warnings: mid/moderate sexual content, possibly bad writing in seductive parts, Afekia being a little shithead

Mahado was knee’s deep in the lesson plan for his lesson plan for next week when he felt a hand on his shoulder.

“Do you ever go to bed, Mister Headmaster?” an all-to-familiar voice mocked as he moved from his side and he saw his lover’s lilac as the smaller goes onto his lap.

“That’s a funny thing coming from the man who spends most nights lurking in one corner of the palace or another?” he replied and Afekia starts putting his legs on either side, hovering over his lap, almost but not quite there on his member, as his perverted lover gave him a sensual smile.

“Well, how else am I suppose to keep my skills share? Besides, it’s not like these palace brats don’t need the extra training in case someone does try an assassination attempt.”

“You say that, yet you spend most of the afternoon sleeping in,” he pointed out in turn.

“Bah, mere cat naps. If there was a _real_ emergency, I would be on them faster than a hawk. Besides, at least I know when to stop, _right_ Mister _Head_ master?”

He sighed.

“And why exactly are you here?”

“Well, I figured since you won’t come to bed for a little fun, we might as well take the fun into the class room.” He said as his voice grew huskier and his grin grew wider, with a seductive edge in both.

He then sat _down_ on his lap, having their two organs have full on contact with each other, and so close to _that_ as well. And it sounds like such a go-

NO!

“We really need to leave if you want to do something lik-“

The thief then pushed back and more importantly pushed their _members_ together.

He would never admit the fact that he moaned from that action. After all, they have done far more than that over the years. But there was something about this room, and the fact that he was now somewhat respectable, that he was a figure of proper conduct here, a moral figure that the students are supposed to emulate… And the little, shit-eating gremlin in front of him wanted to do it _here!_ It was like stealing a sweet that you just _know_ you’re not suppose to have but that makes you want it all the more.

“Oh, I’m sorry. What was that you just said?” he said with a shit-eating smirk that shows he knows exactly what he was going to say.

He glared at the asshole, but then the bastard did the most evil thing he could do in this situation. He moved. No off, gods know we can’t have that. No, he decided to move _around_.

Up and down and left and right, constantly having their dicks rub against each other even with the barriers of clothing on them. And he was getting so _hard_.

He tries to push him off but then those talented hands made themselves known but touching him. And the gremlin’s mouth came into play as he felt teeth bite into his neck and hitting all his weak spots.

They stayed in that room until the wee hours of the morning.

\-----

Churrio walked to the finished classroom, wearing Kimijo’s scarf since she’s the one who is suppose to be cleaning that day, but they _did_ lose that bet last week and not like it’s _hard_. They opened the door to a **_horrid_** mess in the front of the room. Some kind of sticky white stuff was covering the desk and chair there. They decided to just sweep the floor, clearing dust as they made their way to the front.

When they got to the desk, they started to get out the cleaning supplies, pretty sure that the stuff was just some potion of some kind or another. As they worked to get the sticky substance off of the chair and desk, they found out that it **defiantly** was not a potion. Disgust filled them with that discovery. But that won’t change that the mess was they so they steeled their nerves and got back on task.

They hesitantly finished cleaning the mess before going back to the cleaning area to give their hands a thorough scrubbing. Next time, Kimijo cleaning that room by herself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ahahahaHAHAHAHAH **HAhaHaHahAhAhAAHaHAHA?!?!?!?!?**  
> .....  
> yes, i wrote this sad attempt at smut-ish work. but tbh i don't know if it is even halfway good. it's probably best if you don't say anything this chapter. hope you still have a good holiday though.


	23. Comfort Houses

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Characters: Yugi, Ryou, Atem, Joey  
> Point in timeline: Third year into King Atem’s reign  
> Warnings: assumed prostitution, period talk, dumbass decisions made by dumbass guard and the king who should know better

They were on their way to Argentèe Lune for a negotiation, which also made for a good excuse for Atem to visit the princess that he had befriended recently, when she noticed that she is more irritable that usual. She actual was quite good on long rides, finding it to be the perfect time to play Solitaire and figure out what kind of plants grow near the path. It’s almost like… shit. Did she have everything she needed?

She had her carriage stop for a bit so she could check her luggage. Yes, she did pack some blood-moss and that herb that Miss Anthy makes that really numbs the pain. Now all she has to do is think of some excuses when it gets too much. And she still has a full three days before they are there.

*****

Well it started, the second day they were at the Crystal Palace and the guest house. It was more of the nausea that she noticed than the bleeding, but she usually doesn’t get cramps until the second day of her period. But she was prepared… until it turns out that Ryou **also** had started… and she doesn’t feel comfortable enough to ask one of the ladies to get her what she needs… shit.

She had excused herself from a meeting where they were talking about bringing someone from the magic school to help tutor Princess Serenity and her court, wanting to just go to bed. Apparently Ryou had the same idea, and with her having **hard** cramps that day. So they trudged to their accommodations, with Yugi supporting Ryou through the halls. and then it happened.

*****

They had just figured out a time where the two tutors would come over when a lady came over to the Queen and whispered in her ear. She gave the other a nod and the stranger went off. Huh. He stared at her, hoping she would give him an explanation. She usually doesn’t but it seems to be on of those rare exceptions.

“Well, it seems like a few in your party are having their monthly bleeding, and will be indisposed for a little while. But don’t worry, my servant has just informed me that they have been taken to a comfort house, the one on Sirius road if you wish to visit them, and will be back before you leave.”

She then got up and went down the corridor ending their talks for the day.

Comfort house?

“Ah, shit! We gotta get Yug’ and Ryou outta there.”

He turned to his guard, Joey. Nice guy, a killer in dice games, and another friend that Yugi has made with the staff. He wishes that he could spend more time with him but it seems that every time he tries to get to know him, another stuffy a-hole wants his attention.

“… Why?”

“ **‘cause** of those ‘comfort houses’. Now, I ain’t sure what _you’ve_ been told, but I heard from a buddy of mine that it’s some kinda sex house that ladies go into to get preggers and do nasty sex stuff.”

“.. Are you thinking of the right place, because I don’t think that gels with what I know of the country, more or less the Queen.”

“Yeah, ‘course the ice queen wouldn’t want ya ta worry, she gets a cut of da pay. Come on, we’ve gotten bust them out before anything bad happens.”

He really doesn’t know if Joey is really right but then again, he doesn’t want to just sit around and do nothing if it _is_ true. But he likes to thinks he’s close enough to Usagi that she would tell him about such a thing if it really was happening. And then there’s the _paper work_ …

“Alright, let’s go.”

*****

Once they were out of the palace, it was quite easy to find the building that the Queen was talking about. It looked to be an ordinary building, with a soft blue sign on above the door with it’s name on it along with a carving of a relaxed face. They both took a deep breath as they opened the door.

“Welcome, are you here for your wife, lover, or a family member?”

They gawked at the pretty man in front of them, smiling an easy smile as he gave a friendly farewell to an older lady.

“Ummm, Yugi, Mouto Yugi.”

“Ah, you must be part of the Esmian group. Really, the way they acted when they came in, you’d expect them to be dealing with something _horrid_. I’ll take you to their rooms right this instant.”

They followed quietly behind the strange host, neither of them knowing what to make of this place. It certainly doesn’t look like any brothel he’s ever been to, with nice soothing colors decorating the place and the air being perfumed with a flowery scent he’s seen more with rich ladies than whores, even Mai prefers a spicier scent than whatever is in _this_ place. But then again, he’s been hearing moaning faintly whenever he gets too close to a door.

“Ah, room 64. I’ll leave you with your companions now. Feel free to recommend to your friends.”

He then walked back to his desk, not even about what’s on the other side. He looked at the king, who looked back at him, and they silently decided to roshambo who would open. He lost. So, steeling his nerves, he swung the door open.

***

The king and knight stared at the sight in front of them, frozen at they took everything in. There was Yugi, laying down on a bed-like device, her back being massaged by a burly man who was quite good at his job given the blissed out look on Yugi’s face. On a chair close by, Ryou was sitting on a rather comfy looking chair, drinks a hot beverage as another man rubbed her feet. All in all, it looked more like a spa than a brothel.

Ryou was the one who noticed them first, Yugi still enjoying her massage.

“Oh, hello. Sorry that we disappeared like that, but apparently in this country, when a woman starts their monthly bleeding, they are taken to a comfort house where they are pampered as they deal with the pains from that time. I guess it’s just so common place here that they just assumed that you knew this. Incidentally, did you know that there is a similar sort of service for women dealing with pregnancy. They even have a lower mortality rate from child birth due to the studies and practices here. It’s really quite fascinating.”

The two stared at Ryou, turned their gazes to the other, then fainted.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here is just a dumb little bit of world building in the Esmian ally, Argentèe Lune. In short, it's a matriarchal society where women are in charge and men tend to stay in the background. And since women are in charge, there is no doubt in my mind that they would develop a place where they could relax and deal with the pain that mother nature had so kindly given them for the successful task of not getting pregnant that month. Now, does anyone have any ideas for other things that this female driven society would put more focus on? Write it down in the comments below.  
> Hope you have a happy holidays.


	24. One is Silver and the Other's Gold

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Characters: Atem, Afekia, Yugi, Mana, Usagi/Serenity, Ryou, Mahado, Mai  
> Point in timeline: third Year into King Atem’s reign  
> Warnings: foul language, mention of vomiting, using dialog for this piece so some of it may be confusing

“So how are things looking out for you, future Head Master?”

“Quite well. And you, Your Majesty?”

“…”

“…”

“bbbBWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!”

“Hehehe, so really, how are thing?”

“Fine, fine.”

****

“…”

“…”

“…* **smack** * two-fold gents. I win.”

“Gah, how did you do that? Most players spend months before ever seeing on and you just do it every other game. How?”

“Quite simple, my dear. Luck.”

“Luck? Luck! More like something up your sleeve, you cheat!”

“Hey, just because I got the skills doesn’t mean that I cheat! Besides, you almost always beat me at chess so I consider it even.”

“… I guess…”

“Hey, you up for another round?”

“Sure.”

****

“Oh, so it seems like the great king of our fair country has come from on high to mingle with the whores and lap dancers, How ever will your reputation recover?”

“Oh, I’ll think I’ll manage.”

“Cute. So what’s the _real_ reason you’re here?”

“Do you want the reason I told the council or the _actual_ reason?”

“Why not both?”

“Well, _officially_ , I’m here to talk to the guide heads to negotiate a price for them to pay to the crown for allowing them to continue to exist. _Unofficially_ , I’m here to talk to someone won’t kiss my ass so they could get me to agree to whatever bullshit they are trying to serve me.”

“Ah, the pains of the upper class. Well don’t you worry, by the time you leave, you’ll be begging for those asshats to grovel at your feet.”

“I’d like to see how you’ll do _that_.”

****

“ _Goddess_ , lessons suck.”

“Mmhmm.”

“I mean, who even needs to know the price of grain for the last ten years.”

“Mmhmm.”

“I mean, at least sword fighting is interesting, but Mama wants me to learn **all** about the boring stuff before I could do something _fun_.”

“Mmhmm.”

“I mean, we have advisers, shouldn’t they help advise on these things?”

“Yeah, but what if they try to scam you, or they don’t know? Maybe your Mom just wants you to do your best on the throne?”

“Uh, I guess, but it’s still _borrrrrrrrrring_.”

“Hey, at least you don’t have to have a full decade of studies shoved on you all _at_ _once_.”

“True.”

****

“No.”

“Why not?”

“Because, you’re the king. People who don’t like you can just kill you if you do. So shut up and wait for the guards to come.”

“But that exactly why I have to go without them. If I do, I’ll show them-“

“You’re stupid.”

“…”

“…”

“ ** _Fine_** , you can go out with without the big group. But I want you to take at least a guard or two, hidden or otherwise. And I mean it, if you sneak away, I will keep your bratass so close, you won’t even take a shit without me.”

****

“Here you are.”

“Ah, is this the book you were telling me about last week?”

“Mhm, not my personal favorite from Le Bon, but it seems like something you would like, given the pacing and plot.”

“Thanks, I’ll be sure to give it back when I’m done. Or have Afekia do it.”

“Hm, well, I don’t think that this would be his cup of tea, given some of the villains.”

“Well, I’ll let him decide.”

****

“Hey Temmy?”

“Mana, what was with the sudden call? Not that I’m mad or anything.”

“Well, I’ve just found this amazing spell, and I’ve even figured out a way to do it super quick, too. Here.”

“…Mana, is that the stupid orb thing that I have to hold every first day of summer for some stupid reason that no one even remembers?”

“Ummmm… yeah?”

“Throw it.”

“Wait, wouldn’t people freak out if it went missing?”

“Well then, some of the crazier priests can go on some holy quest to find it, or something. I see nothing bad happening from you getting that thing as far away as possible.”

“O.K., you’re the king.”

“… say, can this spell teleport people as well?”

“Hm, never tried. Let’s see!”

“…..* **Bleaaaaaah Bleahhhhh coff** *”

“Note to self: work on teleporting spell so people **don’t** lose their lunch from it.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a little look into Atem's friendships and their personal dynamics.  
> Hope you read, review, and have a nice day.


	25. Seth's Reign

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Characters: Seth, Atem, Afekia, Yugi, Mana, Isis, Ryou, Mahado  
> Point in timeline: Fifth Year into King Atem’s reign  
> Warnings: foul language

Things have been busy for the king and his close associates since the fiasco of a crowning that had happened a year ago.

The king was finding a groove in his new title, after _finally_ finishing his lessons to a satisfactory level. The former thief king of Pharos was building his influence as the new spy master, complete with a lengthy book of all the secrets that the ‘elites’ keep from the crown and how ‘devastating’ it would be if anyone found out about this information. The new headmaster for the Magical University of Esmia and his assistant are finalizing all the detail before they open, which includes wrangling in the teacher for this new facility. The king’s cousin and his wife are still trying to figure out the details of running their estate, especially for the furrier of the duo, while the two who crowned the king to begin with are still helping the king figure out how to run things. Not to mention the whole enterprise Mai has going for her.

But, on the third Thursday of every month, they meet together, or at least attempt so, to play a game…

***

The parlor room was well lit, with a menagerie of player sitting around the table, around eight in total. On each end of the table were two decks, half of which are worn from use, with sweat stains and watermarks, with a 2 of hearts with a singed right corner, the other a fresh new card, with colors so vivid they look like they were just painted on.

The dice roll across the table as Isis looked at the paper. She is the official designator of the hand which is partially due to her studious nature and partially due to the fact no one’s ever quite trusted her again due to the fact that she won six whole rounds of Seth’s Reign and even her lost on the seventh was quite suspicious. The die shown 8.

“Right then, it’s the storm of sand.”

The deck was shuffled with each player getting four, with a card being placed in each of the cardinal directions after each person got a card. There was a king in the south, which Atem quickly put in the north-east before getting rid of his entire hand in the very first round. Fortunately, their house rules had it so everyone else can play after a person has gotten out.

Yugi also got rid of her hand, with Ryou and Seth each having one care left. Mana and Mahado had a very respectable two in their hand by the end. Meanwhile….

“For fuck’s sake, why the hell did you get out on the **first fucking _turn!_** ” he yelled at the king not seeing anything wrong with getting in his face for the bullshitery that was his luck.

“Hey, I don’t control the cards. Besides, Isis was the one who gave me the hand.”

He turned his glare to the dealer.

She shrugged.

“That is the way the cards are shuffled.”

“Oh, really? Maybe you’re just buttering up his royal shortness to agree with whatever Zork-tainted deal you have waiting in the wings.”

“Oh please, I really doubt that Isis would use something as juvenile as giving his majesty a good hand in a card game for diplomatic relations.” Seth said, showing that even after finally breaking the curse that he had been under for so long, he still had a sharp tongue on him.

“Oh, do you want to go, horn boy? Cause I’ve got a fist ready for-“

“How about you help keep an eye on Isis if you’re so suspicious about her,” Mahado said in order to keep the game moving along. He swears that if the temperamental spymaster is going to take going out first so personally, he should just not play.

Isis takes the dice from their place to once again let the gods control their fate.

The die showed 4.

She took the gathered cards and shuffled quickly, dealing each person two while putting three cards in the middle face up.

Atem, winning the last round, bets while Yugi calls, Seth and Mana raise, and the rest fold.

Seth has a change of heart as Isis puts down the next card, folding while the other remaining players stay in. As Isis places the final card, Mana groans as she flopped down her losing hand. She goes joins Afekia to do some quick dice games as Atem choices his two, getting a four-of-a-kind. Yugi then takes her two, which gave her a royal flush. She gives a small grin to the king as she gathers up the cards and shuffles them as Isis cast the die.

The die spun with glee before settling down on 7 for their combined total.

Isis got out the spare decks and shuffled them as Seth and Mahado go deep into their match. By the time she gave them to Yugi and Ryou, the winner, Seth, was already playing against Atem. Ryou had a lucky hand, which had her playing against Seth as Yugi and Atem once again duked it out. Ryou’s lucky streak continued as she soundly thrashed the Duke of Kemet, with Atem getting back at Yugi for the last round with a sound victory.

Mahado migrated to the dice table as Isis rolled to reveal an 11.

Seth went to grab Yugi as a partner, only to see his cousin had gotten there first. Isis ask Mahado to help her shuffle the other two decks as she dealt each of them 13 cards for their hand and foot each. The two tri-heads quickly got through their hands with a natural and a wild to show for it. Meanwhile, Ryou was having the hardest time trying to find any useful cards, which frustrated Seth to no end since he was well into his foot.

“Do you really have _nothing at all_!”

“I’m sorry. It’s just a bad hand.”

The other team cheered as they both cleared out with two dirty hands to complete their collection.

“Seth, Ryou, do you know-“

“Her/Me” they said in unison. Ryou quietly left to join the other losers, hoping to interest them in a little game she’s been developing.

“Well, it seems like a tough group this round, huh?” Atem said, hoping to lighten the mood.

“Shut up and roll.”

Isis, annoyed at her husband’s rude remark, just turned her hand for the final round, where they jumped for a few seconds before showing a meager 3 to the onlookers. Isis gathered them up to roll again, this time to decide which card was wild. The die chose 5.

Each player was given their five before Isis put a king of hearts on the discard pile. It was immediately grabbed by Yugi who place down a queen of spades for Atem. He took from the deck and place a 7 of clubs for his cousin. He too took from the deck, glancing between his own cards and Yugi for a few minutes, before placing a 10 of hearts for the shorter. She took from the pile, giving a devious grin as she revealed her hand, going from a King of Hearts to the very ten that Seth had just discarded. His eye twitches before hitting his head on the table, knocking his horns against the wood as Atem shows his wild and 9’s before taking three meager points for the final round. Yugi cheered as she won, giving Isis a hug before telling the others of her victory.

“You know, I’d thought you’d do better, what with it being named after your namesake.”

“Shut it Atem.”

“Don’t you mean, your majesty?”

The taller glared at his young cousin before joining the dice table, where Ryou was just finishing the rules for her little story-telling game.

The final two got up and sorted the cards as Ryou had everyone roll for things that she called stats, which determined how well the story characters can do things.

“Do you think I was a little had on him.”

“No, he just been under some stress lately.”

“Oh… does it have to do with-“

“No, no. It’s just that I’m expecting and he’s worried about how the child would come out.”

“Really!! Do you want me to-“

“No, we’d rather keep this private until we’re further along.”

“Ah, well… good luck.”

They finished as the clocks ring out into the city, showing that it was far too late for anymore games. Then, one by one, each of them left the room to go to bed, awaiting the next game night in the palace.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just wanted to have a game night with these guys, complete with the group spliting off and doing another game after they lose the first one. And yes, before you ask, Ryou just deleloped a rudimentary RPG for this fantasy setting. Ryou/RPGs = true OTP.
> 
> In case you are wondering, the card games used in each round are as followed:
> 
> King’s corner/sandstorm round=8
> 
> Poker/wind round=4
> 
> War/rainstorm round=7
> 
> Hand and foot/ thunder and lightning round=11
> 
> King’s Wild/fog round=3
> 
> Feel free to guess what other games are used in Seth’s Reign
> 
> Hope you read, review, and have a nice day.


	26. Matchimaking Fails

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Characters: Anzu, Joey, Atem, Yugi, Anthy  
> Point in timeline: fifth year of King Atem’s reign  
> Warnings: dumbass attempt at romance, dumbass attempts at matchmaking

Anzu was watching as Yugi and the young king were chatting in the hall. They looked into each other’s eyes, so deep into their talk that they failed to notice all the other people who were there. This was merely _another_ of the many reasons why she should get the two together. Some of the other reasons that she could list off the top of her head include; they enjoy many of the same hobbies, Atem already respects her and has a high opinion on her insight, Atem needs a partner who softens his image (a lot of people like him already but there are still a few in high regard that distrust the young king even now), Yugi is great at negotiations, they enjoy spending time together, Yugi’s the type who would use her power to help others in the lower class (not that she isn’t already), she has caught them more than once with a blush after they accidently touch the other, Yugi deserves the best and what’s better than a kind king, and so much more.

But how to do it….

She had tried getting them into the same room, only the two of them were such busy bodies that they tend to bring paperwork in, not to mention the guards…

Then there was the dance, which only resulted in the two of them cloistering into a game room and playing the night away.

She took them out on a trip to one of the local plays only for them to fall asleep half way through.

And suggesting rides around the country had somehow become a race between the two. It seems like she will have to be a bit more direct in her planning.

“Ya know da this plannin’ just makes ya look creepy, right _milady_?”

She turned swiftly at that, seeing the board form of the guard that Yugi befriended. Honestly, she could never guess what she sees in the blond.

“Well, I don’t see you doing anything.”

The blond gave a haughty grin that makes her just want to smack it off.

“Nah, I’m doin’ somethin’.”

“ _Really_?”

He smirked.

“Sure. Just pointin’ out to kingy dat lots o’ folks been lookin’ at Yug, ‘nd all the nice things she’s been doin’.”

Silence fell upon the room.

“… _And_?”

“Dat’s it.”

She smacks herself in the face, astounded by his stupidity.

“How is that going to help anybody?”

“Well why don’t cha put ya money where ya mouth itz?”

“Excuse me?”

“I bet I could get de two of dem together faster than _you_ can!”

Di.. did he just…

“Oh, it is on!”

****

“Hey Yugi, is it alright if we have a little chat, just the two of us?”

“Oh, sorry Anzu, it’s just that Miss Anthy wanted to show me something, and I really don’t want to be late. Maybe we could catch up tomorrow?”

“Oh… sure…”

Huh, she never knew the reclusive woman had taken a shine to Yugi. She took this odd meeting as an opportunity to figure out some strategies that her friend could use to seduce the king. unfortunately, it seems like whenever she asked, Yugi seems to be at another meeting with the queen mother.

She swears that the older woman was trying to stop her.

****

“Hey, Kingy. Wanna come wit’ me ta goof off with Yug’?”

“Sorry, Joey. I need to have all this work done by next Tuesday. Perhaps another time.”

“Next Tuesday. _Next Tuesday_? The heck’s goin’ on **Next Tuesday**?!?”

After that outburst he was dragged out by a far too happy Afekia.

The king started at the place Joey was for a moment before going back to his paperwork.

****

Fail after fail, the two tried to get the two tri-heads to meet, only for one thing or another stopping them. Each failure stinging harder and harder. Finally, it was the King’s Ball, a celebration of the king’s birthday for every king since their country was found, which was on a Tuesday this year.

Both Anzu and Joey were drinking their butts off after all the problems that they had last week in even trying to get those two idiots together.

They saw as various people of the court gave the king pretty but useless junk so they could court the king’s favor, with a few of the stupider ones mentioning something about a daughter or niece of theirs. Those ones were quickly dismissed with other lords reviling in their mistake. There were also some gifts from other countries, mostly allies wanting to keep good ties with the young king, blessings from the high priest and priestesses for the king to have a long life, presents from the guilds to thank him for making them official and able to bargain with the gentry, and a spectacular display of magic from the magic school, with Mahado and Mana coordinating the show.

It was close to the end when Yugi came forward with a plate of perfectly formed fried balls. Anzu had never seen such things before but apparently Joey had.

“Falafels!?!? Da heck would da king want with Falafels?”

Quite a lot apparently, as the king teared up at the sight of the fried treat and got up from the throne, walked up to Yugi, took a ball from the pile and ate it. He ate it slowly, savoring every bite, all while the court looks on. After watching the king eat those round ball things for at least a good half hour, he brings Yugi close into tight embrace, like the kind you would give a friend after a long journey. Anzu and Joey looked on in wonder, convinced that the two have _finally_ seen how much they are into each other.

Unfortunately, the world does not work like that. Somehow, after all of that, her dearest friend still hasn’t admitted her feelings to the king, who didn’t get it through his thick skull that she saw him as a potential partner.

So here she sits, drinking a combination of mead, wine, ale, and some other alcoholic drinks that her family has gathered over the years, trying to forget the _stupid_ _bullshit_ of them _just_ **_not_** **_CONFESSING_**!

“Hey, room for one more?”

She turned to see the stupid guard there, looking as done as she felt.

“Sureee, buuuuuuut youze gotta bring ya own boozze.”

He lifted a jug of… something.

“Gat my own right here, princess.”

Several hours later they were swaying side to side, trying to keep the other up as they tried their best to one up each other on what dumbass statement from a tri-head said to them about their hopeless crush on the other.

‘Nd… nd _he_ said da Yug’ could hav’ ‘ny one sooo why would she want him. I mean, hello, youze da Ra-damned king. Course she wants ya.”

“Na, na, na, Yugies Dumberer, cause… cause even after all the games played, gifts for the saek, and nott one ‘o those useless gifts but stuff she _acutally_ _likes_ , _and_ his scary ass mom helping her with her birthday pr-br-tresent, she _still_ thinks that hezzz jus bein’ nice. I mean, girl, it is so far past the point of nice that they might as well pick the dedding date.”

And somehow, despite everything, Anzu and Joey slowly became friends.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welp, Might as well start the New Year by finishing posting the 30 pieces for my ~~Stupid~~ ~~cheesy as hell~~ indulgent fantasy AU. I hope to post more of my stuff in the coming year, both for this and for my other WIPs. Hope you have a nice day and a happy New Year. Now why don't you be a dear and leave a review in the comments.


	27. Dreaming of Days Long Past

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Characters: Anthy, other characters mentioned  
> Point in timeline: seventh year of King Atem’s reign  
> Warnings: None

She doesn’t dream often these days, in the place where she had spent so much time in her youth. The place where she was taught how to act, how to perform, how to listen, and how to hate. There were several haughty people who took out their frustrations on her. Claiming that she should just be with a pig farmer for all they care. Nothing she did was ever good enough for them. And the royal family… Well, they weren’t _mean_ to her, but they tended to ignore her, which was fine by her. Even the worst of them, the fiancé from Lune, merely dismissed her as a temporary fixture, not important enough to bother remembering. Which she was, and would have likely been if it wasn’t for _that_ day.

The only one in her corner was her brother.

Fortunately, this dream had little to do with the palace. Instead it was one of the calmer days on the farm. It was when Atem was little enough that she could carry him easily, but when he was able to help her out in the chores around the farm. She saw his little hands as he proudly placed his eggs into the basket, getting them one at a time to keep them safe. She helped the little thief that she welcomed into her home as he practiced his skills by taking from the more aggressive hens and then she went on the familiar streets to exchange the eggs for bread and other things for the day.

It then shifted to the first meal that Afekia made for them. She was never really good at cooking, one of the few things that she missed in the palace. Even now, he was better then her in such tasks. There were some others now, each at the age when she met them. Mai, a skinny girl not even 12 with bruises on her wrists and a wild look in her eyes. Mahado, 18 with a book in his hand who always looked over his shoulder, worried that there would be someone who would attack them. Mana, 15 in a torn noble dress and tears in her eyes, who looks as if the most important people in her life had just called her a spawn of Zork’s and tried to kill her. Them and many other were like this, all except Atem, who was still a chubby child that she could carry in her arms, and her brother, wearing a fine white suit on the day that she was to crown the king. Not at all like the figure that she dragged into the house after being all but declared dead as he was left in the blistering heat to die.

A cock crow brought her out of it, and she found herself in a bed too soft, with wall too fine, and she breaths in as she deals with another day that Pur in her thrice damned twisted ways had put them in, all because of that damned crown.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A little bit of a look into Anthy's head and some hints about her past.
> 
> Hope you read, review and have a nice day.


	28. Dirty Deeds Done Cheap

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Characters: Anthy, others mentioned  
> Point in timeline: fifth year of Atem’s reign  
> Warnings: poisoning, cursing, murder, conspiracy, manipulation

A mother’s work is never done they say and she knows that better than anyone. After all, there are quite a few troubles for her son since that **_stupid thing_** revealed their secret. And there were quite a few indeed.

***

Now, in any regime, there would obviously be those who dislike their ruler. Someone who complains that things were better with the previous king, but they really won’t do anything about it. But sometimes there are people who think that it is better if they would just kill their current ruler, have a ruler that suite their beliefs. There are even those who feel it is their moral duty to kill the current king, convicted of their own self-importance and ego.

There were several minor ones, brought down by the spy network that her ward developed but even he could miss a few. That is where she takes them down. Exposing improper affairs, reckless spending, and even an unnatural attraction to a mule that one time, she made them out to be fools and hypocrites. Toxic to anyone of good standing, she even saw a wife kick out and disown her husband for his horrifically bad sense in business. He was on the streets for weeks and only survived on the kindness of the same people he sneered at when in his manor. Not that he was worth anything to begin with.

***

Of course, not all men need be taken care of in such a way. All that she needed to do to secure Pegasus’s loyalty was to help him with his wife. Yes, he might have been temporarily angry about the lost of a potential heir, but even that was not worth the price of his dearly beloved wife’s life. He even seemed thrilled at the prospect of finding an heir out of the orphans and bastards that were around. And she even reminds him to check-in every so often to make sure her health is well.

***

Then there was the odious eldest son of lord Hanasaki. A bully of a boy, he found Atem to be pleasing to the eye and wanted to see if they could become… more familiar with each other. It did matter that he already had a lover, a sweet thing he drove off because he wanted what he could not have. And she had no doubt that he would try everything in the book to try to have them be physically intimate. Even endanger the entire kingdom just because he did not have what he wanted.

It was quite easy to get rid of him. Just give him the horse that shares his name, let him ride it, and watch as she bucks against the brat. He snapped his neck and the horse was almost out down, before a guard who was too poor for one of his own tamed the scared dear and claimed her as his own.

She believes that she had done everyone a favor there. The younger Hanasaki is a sweet thing that will actually listen to his people and not try to bribe them with flashy distractions.

***

Of course, there are also just plain stupid people. Like the Ourobuto family. They tried to use this information about some of the silly pranks that her little boy did when he was barely old enough to walk as a way to make their way up in the world. As if they don’t get enough from their tenants and pimping, not to mention their ‘protection’ rings.

She destroyed them so thoroughly, not even the pigs on the street would spit in their direction.

***

Then there was the princess. She doesn’t really remember the country but the stupid girl thought that just because she was ‘delicate’ and ‘noble’ that means that she should be married to the king of one of the most prosperous countries this side of Djeseru. It really wasn’t hard to find a way to get rid of her. She obviously was sheltered in more ways than one since she drank what she was given without even questioning the intent of the giver.

She went home in a week, coughing and ill all the way back to daddy. She didn’t want to kill the stupid child. It frankly would give her more importance than she ever deserved. Such a delicate girl such as herself deserves a safe husband back home.

***

Yes… a mother’s work is never done.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ad here we have Anthy doing what she does best, using every resource she has to protect someone she cares for. I honestly really enjoy the contrast that ToE Anthy has to cannon Anthy, with ToE projecting a more ideal mother image while the other is a passive bride, and how, even here, their cores are so similar, both putting on an act that fits into a patriarchal dynamic as the submissive gender, and how they are both used by it and use it to their own advantages.
> 
> Hope you read, review, and enjoy.

**Author's Note:**

> Hey there, this here is just a little something that I've had on my hand for a while; a place to put all the hidden and side info for the story that I've written earlier this year. I'm posting it now as a part of a self-challenge to post something for everyday of this month (something which I'm already behind on). Feel free to ask any questions you have in the comments, along with anything else you would like to add. Hope you have a nice day.


End file.
